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Yukon Legislative Assembly
Whitehorse, Yukon
Tuesday, November =
17, 2015
— 1:00 p.m.
Speaker: I w= ill now call the House to order. We will proceed at this time with prayers. =
Prayers
Daily
Routine
Speaker: We = will proceed at this time with the Order Paper.
Tributes.
TRIBUTES
In recognition of Interna= tional Education Week
Hon. Mr. Graham: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge International Education Week, which started yesterday and runs through Friday.
Intern= ational Education Week is celebrated worldwide every third week of November. It originated in the United States in 2000 as a joint initiative of the US Department of State and the US Department of Education. It’s now celebrated worldwide in over 100 countries, including Canada.
Canada= ’s International Education Week is hosted by the Canadian Bureau for Internati= onal Education with leadership from the Council of Ministers of Education, Canad= a.
Accord= ing to the bureau’s website, International Education Week showcases the impact international education has in preparing Canadians for the world and suppor= ts Canada’s efforts to engage effectively on the international stage. It shines a light on efforts and initiatives that prepare Canadians to take th= eir place on the global stage and also to attract future leaders.
Intern= ational education should be seen as a two-way street. We often think of it in terms= of students from other countries who come to Canada to study, but we should al= so think of it in terms of Canadians going abroad to study. Those who leave th= eir homes to study in other countries return enriched and broadened by their experiences, and they carry those experiences and those perspectives with t= hem as they move forward in their lives. International education reflects the spirit of cooperation and collaboration among people from different corners= of the globe with different languages, cultures and world views. It both requi= res and cultivates openness to other ways of living, and a willingness to view one’s own cultural and personal values from another’s perspecti= ve. Students who come here from other countries go back home changed forever by their exposure to a culture that may be very different from their own. They also carry with them the deeply personal connections that are a valuable as= pect of studying abroad.
Here i= n the territory, Yukon College plays an instrumental role in our international education efforts. At this moment, 56 international students are studying at the college with another 25 students due to join us in January. They come f= rom Austria, China, France, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Norway, Pakis= tan, Philippines, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand and Vietnam. Of the 56 who are he= re now, Mr. Speaker, approximately half of them are enrolled in academic programs as diverse as business education, circumpolar studies, culinary ar= ts, early learning and childcare, general studies, liberal arts, multimedia and, one of the favourites, northern outdoor and environmental studies. One is a= lso enrolled in the School of Visual Arts in Dawson City. The others are studyi= ng English as a second language through the college’s international division.
Ninete= en of these 56 students are housed in private homes throughout the city in the college’s homestay program. This program provides a safe and friendly home environment for students during their stay at Yukon College. The homes= tay experience is as integral to international education as any academics they learn at the college. It is in these private homes that students learn about the day-to-day lives of Yukoners — valuable cultural knowledge that t= hey would not otherwise so readily gain.
I̵= 7;m grateful to the many generous residents who open their houses and their liv= es to these students. I know that many of them go above and beyond their responsibilities as hosts, providing their guests with unforgettable experiences of life in northern Canada. The relationships established during these homestays often last a lifetime and provide unforeseen benefits. In my own case, approximately 15 years ago, I sponsored an international student = here in the territory. That student, I am very proud to say, is now a gainfully employed, tax paying, contributing member of Yukon society, and that’s something I think that we all should experience.
Yukone= rs most certainly benefit from having these students here. Today at lunch time at t= he college a group of international students from 12 countries hosted International Students Day with food, music and conversation. The promotion= al poster for the event created by the students themselves included a section called “human library” with the following description: to incre= ase tolerance and understanding; to promote respect for people; to enjoy the or= al tradition of storytelling; to meet new people; and to strengthen ties. This= is as good a promotion for the benefits of international education as any I ha= ve seen.
As I m= entioned earlier, international education is a two-way street. So far I focused on t= he students who come here to study, but of course there are many Yukon students who study abroad. Those who do come back, not only with new knowledge and skills, but with a much deeper appreciation of home and an awareness of the fact that Yukon truly is a marvelous place to live, work, play and raise a family. They never again take for granted what we have here in the territor= y.
We don= ’t have statistics on the number of Yukoners who ha= ve studied in other countries, but I personally know many who have done so and I’m sure many members of this House also are aware. Not only do these students bring their international experiences home with them where it info= rms their work in the private and public sectors, but through their roles as unofficial ambassadors for the Yukon, they promote our territory as a destination for travel, education and even immigration to a global audience= .
I woul= d like to end this tribute by highlighting a few initiatives in Yukon schools that re= late to my theme today. International education is not only about physically crossing borders; it is also about thinking globally in local situations. Fostering that thinking can start as early as elementary school. For exampl= e, students in Amanda Bartle’s grade 6 class at Takhini Elementary School have an ongoing correspondence with Tebeson Pri= mary School in the village of Mosoriot, Kenya. Stude= nts from both schools co-wrote and illustrated a book last year. Two copies of = the book were bound — one for each school. Our copy is proudly on display= in the Takhini Elementary School library. Takhini students also raised money to help buy a water pump and a generator for the school.
The F.= H. Collins Social Justice Club has an ongoing correspondence with one of the high scho= ols in Mosoriot. They also raised funds for the wat= er pump and generator. Vanier Catholic Secondary School is supporting the vill= age as well. A volleyball tournament this coming weekend will raise money for a= hand-powered water drill endorsed by the World Health Organization called the “vil= lage drill”.
All of= these initiatives have arisen out of the personal passion of Vanier Catholic Secondary School counsellor, Katrina Brogdon, who has travelled in Kenya and will be going back in the spring to continue her work with teachers and students in Mosoriot. I thank and commend Ms.&n= bsp;Brogdon, all the teachers and administrators involved and, of course, the students in these schools themselves. I have no doubt = that these early experiences in reaching out beyond their own lives are planting seeds that will take root and bear fruit far into the future. International education, in whatever form it takes, is a win for everyone.
Since = I am on my feet, I would like to take the opportunity to have all members join with me= in welcoming Alison Morham’s grade 5/6 class= from Selkirk Elementary School. Welcome to the Legislature, and I hope you enjoy yourself.
Applause
In
recognition of Girl Guides of Canada
Hon. Ms. Taylor: I rise on behalf of all members of the Assembly here today to = pay tribute to Girl Guides and the guiding movement, which has and continues to make a difference in the lives of young women and girls in our territory and across the globe. Guiding in Canada began back in 1910. It was some four ye= ars later that it made its way to the City of Dawson — Dawson City. The f= irst gathering of some 25 10- to 12-year-old guides took place at St. Paul’= ;s Cathedral. Martha Black was their patron and Harriet Osborne was their lead= er. The early groups met at school and church and they did marching drills by t= he government building. They spent a couple of weeks every summer at Rock Cree= k on the Klondike River, borrowed tents from the Royal Northwest Mounted Police = and slept on spruce bough beds with Hudson Bay blankets. During the war years, = they made candy, cookies and long knit blue stockings for soldiers overseas and raised funds for the Red Cross.
By the= 1960s, extensive guide camping was taking place, and = the land from Sprucewind, the campsite at M’Clintock Bay at Marsh Lake, was leased from t= he territorial government. In 1987, it was purchased outright and hundreds of = Girl Guides and Brownies have camped there ever since from across North America.=
Yukon = guides have hosted cadets from abroad; they’ve played important roles as ambassadors; they’ve won a number of various distinctions and have fo= rmed an integral part of our community response, dating back to the 1979 Dawson = City flood.
As one= of the largest organizations for women and girls in Canada, Girl Guides continues = to play an important role in the lives of our youth and this may be because although Girl Guides is a long-standing tradition in Canada, the organizati= on has also been able to change with the times. From learning to bandage wounds during the First World War to learning about Internet safety and privacy in today’s digital age, guiding continues to change with the times to reflect the needs and the interests of contemporary girls and women.=
In fac= t, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the MLA for Klondike across the way for handing me a = real jewel of a piece of information. It was brought to my attention that a deca= de ago, back in 2005, it was actually the City of Whitehorse, Yukon College and Girl Guides of Yukon who collaborated to develop the first-ever climate cha= nge badges. It was a series of four badges. I know I’m not able to provide props, but it is a beautiful badge for everyone to see. I would tend to agr= ee with the author that it is kind of cool leading up to the COP21 conference = in Paris. So thanks for that.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, guide laws and the guide promise have also evolved over the years to reflect what girls and young women value in today’s world. Likewise, uniforms, the badges, as well as the recipe for the infamous Girl Guide cookies have = also evolved over the last 101 years. What hasn’t changed, however, is the Girl Guides’ overarching vision of supporting and enabling girls to be confident, resourceful and courageous and to make a difference in the world= .
Last y= ear marked the 100th anniversary of Girl Guides in the Yukon and to commemo= rate the celebration, MacBride Museum organized and hosted an exhibition, which showcased the evolution of guiding in the north, including a diverse array = of uniforms, pins, badges, activities and events hosted in our communities. For those who were able to take part or who were able to actually look at the exhibit themselves first-hand, they would have the opportunity to see former MLA Joyce Hayden’s camp poncho, former MLA Pat Duncan’s blanket, and thanks to my mother’s own organizational skills, two of my own original uniforms that I wore a few years ago.
To mar= k the centenary, a reunion of Girl Guides was held in Dawson City at the place wh= ere it all began, wherein some 42 women, spanning several generations from wome= n in their early twenties to the oldest, 82-year-old Lena Emma Tizya, who travelled to Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, when she wa= s a guide. Ms. Tizya was originally from Old C= row and joined the Dawson City unit when her family moved. She was chosen to be= one of a few Canadian girls chosen to attend the coronation and the visit would= be her first trip away from home, and what a trip that was, as was the purse h= er mother made to accompany Lena — an item that also formed part of the exhibit at MacBride Museum.
As min= ister responsible for the Women’s Directorate, I was also very honoured and pleased to acknowledge the excellent work and the contributions of the Girl Guide movement over the years, with the unveiling of a poster during Women’s History Month. I have also been very pleased to host a number= of tours in the Legislative Assembly here and to speak to the topic of women in leadership with some of our local troops.
Yukon = area Girl Guides have made a significant impact on the history of Yukon and have contributed to the lives of many individuals, including government leaders — our own past Premier, Pat Duncan — and commissioners — Commissioner Geraldine Van Bibber — and managers, directors, teachers= and many others with successful careers over the years. Ask any women who has e= ver been a Girl Guide about the meaning and value it has played in their lives = and they will undoubtedly share with you some very profound and valued memories= of how their lives were influenced by this highly respected organization and t= he camaraderie of their fellow guides.
I had = the privilege of serving as a Brownie and a Girl Guide here in the Yukon. My mo= ther was a huge advocate of guiding in the north and, as such, she served as a t= eam leader for a number of years in the Watson Lake division. My experience was nothing but a positive one. Above all, it taught us the importance of teamw= ork, having fun and pursuing interests beyond what in fact I thought were my interests at that time. I learned various skills and crafts and engaged in = the sale of a lot of Girl Guide cookies, a skill that has served me well to this day.
I beli= eve there will always be Girl Guides, as long as there are girls and young women who = are interested in being part of our community and making it a better place for everyone.
Most importantly, being a Girl Guide is about being true to yourself, which can often be a challenge for girls and young women in today’s world.
In kee= ping with the practice that was first started by our former Premier, Pat Duncan, some years ago, I have asked our staff to deliver a box of Girl Guide cookies to= day to every member of the Legislative Assembly, to our media in the press gall= ery as well, and to the Hansard office staff. As members are all aware, all fun= ds raised from the sale of Girl Guide cookies support girls throughout the Yuk= on in their respective unit activities.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, in closing, I would like to thank a number of individuals who have gathered here today and who have joined us here in the gallery this afternoon starti= ng with Kerri Scholz, whose official title is= the area commissioner for the Aurora Adventures Area. It was just brought to my attention that last October, about a year ago, that Yukon actually merged w= ith Northwest Territories — so encompassing a fairly large area, to say t= he least. Thank you to Kerri Scholz who has joined= us.
I woul= d also like to recognize someone who is also joining us here in the gallery today — Jennifer Moorlag, who is also a former = territorial commissioner, and we also have with us a couple of Brownie leaders — = Mary Bradshaw and Morgen Smith. They are all very highly successful women in our territory who have contributed and continue to contribute to our territory = as we know it today.
I want= to thank these women who have joined us here today and to the many countless volunte= ers for imparting their values and helping to shape the lives of Yukon girls and future citizens for the past 101 years in our territory.
I woul= d ask all members to join with me in giving a warm welcome to each of these individua= ls. Thank you for your ongoing contributions.
Applause
Speaker: Int= roduction of visitors.
Introduction
of Visitors
Hon. Mr. Nixon: Albeit already introduced, I would just like to take this opportunity to introduce and welcome a couple of constituents of mine, Kerr= i Scholz and Jennifer Moorlag= , from the riding of Porter Creek South. Welcome.
Applause
Speaker: Are= there any returns or documents for tabling?
Tabling
Returns and Documents
Ms. White: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have for tabling Yukon Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The transportation sector — Updated Report = 2015.
Speaker: Are= there any reports of committees?
Are th= ere any petitions to be presented?
Are th= ere any bills to be introduced?
Are th= ere any notices of motions?
Notices
of Motions
Mr. Elias: I rise to give notice of the following motion:
THAT t= his House urges the Government of Yukon to use the community development fund to work with the Centre for Human-Wildlife Conflict Solutions to communicate the recommendations of the bear hazard assessment through public presentations = and through the updated website.
I also= give notice of the following motion:
THAT t= his House urges the Government of Yukon to use the community development fund to supp= ort the Village of Teslin to carry out landscaping on both sides of the Alaska Highway for the benefit of residents and to enhance economic development through tourism.
Mr. Silver: I rise to give notice of the following motion:
THAT this House urges the Government of Yukon to release green= house gas emissions for its own operations for 2013.
I also= give notice of the following motion:
THAT t= his House urges the Government of Yukon to inform Yukoners, in light of retweets from= the Minister of Justice, whether it supports:
(1) Yukon’s effort to bring Syrian refugees here; and
(2) the Government of Canada’s plan to resettle 25,0=
00
Syrian refugees in Canada by the end of 2015.
Speaker: Is = there a statement by a minister?
This t= hen brings us to Question Period.
QUESTION PERIOD
Question re: Greenhouse gas emissions
Ms. Hanson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, the Paris climate conference is only two weeks away, and it does appear that the Yukon delegation will be going to the talks armed with inaccurate data = on Yukon’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The go= al of the Paris climate conference is to get a legally binding and universal agreemen= t on climate with the aim of keeping global warming below two degrees Celsius. T= o do this, governments around the world will need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The first step in reducing greenhouse gas emissions is knowing how much you produce.
Yester= day, when the Member for Takhini-Kopper King asked the Mi= nister of Environment if the government had produced any annual reports on greenho= use gas emissions for the Yukon since 2012, she didn’t get an answer.
Can th= e Premier confirm that the most recent annual report of greenhouse gas emissions that Yukon will be taking to COP21 was released in 2012?
Hon. Mr. Istchenko: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the member opposite f= or the question.
The re= port that was tabled today is one of the reports that the Climate Change Secretariat = had commissioned. The Yukon government believes, Mr. S= peaker, that it is important to demonstrate leadership in reducing our greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Our Yukon government here is taking a sector-by-sector approach to managing greenhouse gas emissions while supporting Yukon’s economy and growing population= .
In the= 2012 Climate Change Action Plan progress report, the Yukon government established emission targets in our four secto= rs: electricity, building, transportation and industrial operations. The Depart= ment of Environment is preparing the next climate change action plan progress re= port as we speak, which will provide a detailed update on the Yukon sector-by-se= ctor specific targets and actions.
Ms. Hanson: Thanks, Mr. Speaker.
When t= he minister actually reads the 2015 report on Yukon’s greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sectors, he will see it revealed some troub= ling findings when it comes to measurement and reporting mechanisms.
The re= port found that this government “substantively under-report Yukon emissions̶= 1; and that “under-reporting is prevalent across all Yukon sectors, not = just transportation.” The report indicates that actual emissions could be = up to 75 percent higher than what is reported.
Again,= Mr. Speaker, emission reduction targets can’t be met if the levels of emissions themselves are underreported. What will the Premier do to ensure that the Y= ukon delegation to COP21 will be travelling to Paris with accurate data on Yukon’s greenhouse gas emissions?
Hon. Mr. Istchenko: The government on this side does appreciate the fact that we d= o need the transportation sector to get goods and services to the north. It is the= largest source of our greenhouse gas emissions in the Yukon. It accounted for 57 percent of the Yukon’s emissions in 2012. Key reduction targets identified in 2012 include: by 2015, reducing emissions in the transportati= on sector by 10 percent from 2012 levels and, by 2015, reducing emissions from= the Yukon government fleet vehicle operations by five percent from 2012 levels. We’re making progress toward this Yukon-wide transportation goal. In 2013, transportation emissions were 9.74 percent lower than 2012. Since 201= 2, Yukon government vehicles have become two percent more fuel efficient. We a= re doing things and we look forward to taking Yukon’s story to COP21.
Ms. Hanson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In-hou= se emissions are one thing. When we talk about climate change, the bottom line= is comprehensive knowledge of greenhouse gas emissions. The average winter temperature in Yukon has increased five degrees Celsius over the past 50 ye= ars. This is happening now and the implications for Yukon are serious. What does= it say when a territory that will disproportionately experience the effects of climate change cannot accurately say how much greenhouse gas emissions it produces? Meanwhile, this is the same government that is investing millions= of dollars to develop an oil and gas industry that will certainly further incr= ease Yukon’s gas emissions.
The government’s inaction on tackling or even accurately reporting greenh= ouse gas emissions is a real barrier to real action on climate change. Will the Premier commit to developing accurate greenhouse gas emissions reporting and actually producing up-to-date annual reports on progress on Yukon’s greenhouse gas emission targets?
Hon. Mr. Istchenko: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
To the= member opposite: we are taking action. That’s why we have a climate change action plan; that’s why we have an energy strategy; and the Yukon government’s partnership with the Government of Canada implementing climate change adaptation measures across the territory. Some of the recent projects have focused on documenting ecosystem changes: mapping areas of fl= ood risk; examining the impacts of permafrost on highways — I see that in= my riding all the time; buildings; agriculture; and water sources.
The Yu= kon government supports eight different monitoring projects that help us unders= tand the impacts of climate change in the Yukon. These projects focus on areas as diverse as bats, pika, snowshoe hare population= s, caribou habitat, permafrost temperatures and glacier monitoring. The Yukon government is also installing 25 new water monitoring stations to improve f= lood forecasting capabilities, monitoring climate change and to inform the development of our infrastructure planning in various locations.
We are= doing a lot, Mr. Speaker. The government on this side is very proud of the sta= ff working in the Climate Change Secretariat, the staff working in the Departm= ent of Environment, and all the work that this government has done.
Question
re: Oil and gas disposition process
Ms. White: In its current YESAA application, Northern Cross Yukon = is proposing to mix, bury and cover the waste from up to 20 oil and gas drill sites. They plan to use clay and permafrost as barriers to keep drill waste from contaminating ground and surface water.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, next door in the Northwest Territories, drill waste from oil and gas exploration was thought to be frozen into permafrost; however, it has since been found to be leaking into four lakes. This brings into question the ide= a of relying on permafrost as a barrier for oil and gas waste in the Yukon.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, is the Minister of Environment aware that disposing of oil and gas drill wa= ste in sumps has failed in similar areas of extensive permafrost?
Hon. Mr. Kent:= span> Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to= oil and gas activities and regulations, we have a very strong and robust set of regulations. The Yukon Territory borrows from jurisdictions like British Columbia and Alberta, and also borrows from our northern neighbours when it comes to developing these types of regulations.
With r= espect to the project in question, it is currently undergoing a YESAA review. I belie= ve there is an outstanding information request for the company that they need = to respond to before that project goes any further. I am sure that some of this will be addressed. I wouldn’t want to prejudge or interfere in any wa= y in the YESAA process. Again, once those recommendations are done, whether the project should be accepted, rejected or varied, then the Yukon government w= ill be in a position as a decision body to make a determination at that time. T= hese types of activities are subject to strong, modern, robust regulations, as I mentioned, and we have the ability and I have confidence in our Oil and Gas Resources branch in Energy, Mines and Resources to do the necessary work to ensure that the environment is protected.
Ms. White: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Yukon Party government’s position is that disposing of drilling mud and cuttings = in sumps will not require a water licence if the Al= berta Energy Regulator Directive 050 is followed. To be clear, the Yukon Party do= es not choose to follow all of the Alberta directives — only some. The problem is that Directive 050 from Alberta does not address permafrost. Permafrost is extensive where Northern Cross wants to generate and dispose = of waste, but the regulatory framework that the government prefers for our rap= idly warming north Yukon makes no mention of permafrost.
Can th= e Minister of Environment explain why the Yukon Party government is relying on a regulatory framework for the disposal of hazardous waste that is not suitab= le to the environment in which Northern Cross Yukon plans to drill?
Hon. Mr. Kent:= span> Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
As I m= entioned in my first response, we not only borrow from jurisdictions like Alberta, we also borrow from jurisdictions like British Columbia. We are looking to our northern neighbours as well when it comes to our regulatory system. We recognize that some of the oil and gas basins that we have — particul= arly the Liard Basin — are close to British Columbia — shared with British Columbia, in fact — so it makes sense, when regulating activi= ties in that particular basin, to perhaps lean a bit more heavily on the BC Oil = and Gas Commission and their associated regulations. When it comes to activitie= s in the northern Yukon, of course, we do share that similar terrain and topogra= phy with the Northwest Territories, so it makes sense to perhaps adapt some of = the things they are doing over there.
Again,= we have a very strong and robust regulatory system when it comes to oil and gas and mineral resource development. We are a party that believes in responsible resource development. We want to ensure that we protect the environmental integrity of the Yukon, but also focus on jobs and business opportunities a= nd economic opportunities for Yukoners as well.
Ms. White: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
What I= was looking for was environmental leadership — not ev= en a mention of permafrost or the challenges we face with it. Not all drilling waste is suitable for disposal in the mix, bury and cover sump. When waste = is not suitable for a sump, Northern Cross Yukon says it will apply for dispos= al approval to assist specific landfills and follow the transportation and tracking requirements. Northern Cross already generated oil and gas waste f= rom its drilling project between the summers of 2012 and 2013. They said its dr= ill cuttings were transported to — and I quote: “an approved facili= ty located in Whitehorse.”
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, in the interest of transparency, can the minister responsible for protecting our water tell this House what was in that drill waste? Was it disposed of = in a public dump? How is it being monitored?
Hon. Mr. Kent: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. With respect to the Northern Cross project= in Eagle Plains, first of all, I would like to speak to some of the economic benefits that it has brought over the past years. They’ve spent almost $100 million in the past number of years on that project. Many of the individuals who were employed there are from communities like Old Crow, Mayo and throughout the Yukon. Again, there were a number of service and supply companies that helped them as well.
With r= espect to current activities that are proposed for that site, they are currently undergoing a YESAB assessment. Again, it is my understanding that there is = an outstanding information request from YESAB to the company at this point. It’s important, again, for Yukoners to know that it’s still in = the environmental and socio-economic assessment process. Once it comes out of t= hat process with recommendations, the Government of Yukon will be in a position= to accept, reject or vary those recommendations when it comes to this project. These types of things can be taken care of at that stage.
Question
re: Dawson City Airport
Mr. Silver: Mr. Speaker, this spring I asked the government when it was going to move ahead with pav= ing the Dawson City Airport runway. It was the spring of 2014 when the former Y= ukon Party Minister of Tourism returned from a meeting in Dawson where he had he= ard concerns about a gravel runway. It was limiting the number of tourists that= Air North could fly in and out of Alaska, for example.
The mi= nister said in this House that the government was going to pave the runway. He also told a local newspaper — the announcement was — and I quote: “…meant as a message to Yukoners and the tourism industry that = the government takes their requests seriously.” Unfortunately, there̵= 7;s no money in the spring budget to pave Dawson’s runway. There’s = no money in this fall’s update and no money in next year’s forecast either, Mr. Speaker. Why is paving the Dawson Airport runway not a priority for this government?
Hon. Mr. Kent: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of priorities that many communiti= es identify — including, of course, Dawson City — with respect to infrastructure development. This is something that has come forward from a number of parties.
Perhaps it’s worth turning back the clock a little bit. As I mentioned in the Spring Sitting of this Legislative Assembly, we were waiting for confirmati= on from Transport Canada that jet service would be able to use the approach pa= th to the Dawson runway. We’ve since received verbal confirmation and are awaiting written confirmation on that. There is a bank of geotechnical knowledge with respect to the permafrost that underlies that runway. We are updating that knowledge base right now so that we can have a true estimate = on what the costs are going to be to pave that runway. Mr. Speaker, it’s about $11 million capital right now: $4 million for paving and t= he balance in additional equipment for O&M — another half a million a year for O&M.
This i= s a project that we know is important to a number of Yukoners and many Yukon businesses. We want to make sure we get it right and have a proper estimate going forward, because we know, Mr. Speaker, that if we are a dollar o= ver, the Member for Klondike would be the first to complain that we were overbudget.
Mr. Silver: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since I asked questions this spring, it has become increasingly obvious that the holdup seems to be on the Yukon government si= de here. Air North supports paving and so does Chief Isaac Inc. of Dawson. In February of 2014, former Minister Jason Kenney agr= eed that this project would be worthwhile. He said that he would support and endorse the application for Building Canada infrastructure funding. The for= mer Yukon Party Tourism minister supported it — or at least he did before= he was replaced.
Finall= y, the federal Conservative candidate who the Premier warmly endorsed also backed = this project as well. It was interesting, however, to see that the project was n= ot on the list of priorities to the new federal government that the Premier recently released.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, why are so many organizations behind this project and why is the Yukon government not one of them?
Hon. Mr. Kent: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Again = as I mentioned, I know this is an important project for the community of Dawson City. There are a number of projects throughout the Yukon that are important when we develop priorities — infrastructure priorities going forward.= Of course we’ve heard about access roads into mineral-rich areas like the Dawson Range and improving those roads as important priorities.
With r= espect to the Dawson runway, Mr. Speaker, we want to make sure that we’ve = done all of our homework. We need that written confirmation from Transport Canada that the approach slope is available to have jet service land there. We’ve received verbal confirmation on that and that’s where we = are.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, with respect to the capital cost of paving the runway, we’re adding to our geotech knowledge base. Right now we’= re doing our homework on that.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, it’s an important project — we recognize that — to the community of Dawson and to many businesses and tourism operators throughout= the territory. I know that the Minister of Tourism and Culture has spoken direc= tly with Holland America about the importance of this as well; but Mr. Spe= aker, it’s also important to do our homework, and that’s what we̵= 7;re doing right now.
Mr. Silver: Mr. Speaker, paving the runway is obviously not a priority for this government or it wou= ld be done by now. This project has the support of the community; it has the support of the private sector, the development arm of the local First Nation but not the Yukon Party. Air North has been flyi= ng into Dawson City for years now and has introduced an opportunity to increase the flow of passengers through the airport by using more modern and fuel-efficient jets on that route. This move gives more passengers-per-flig= ht at a lower cost-per-passenger in a more fuel-efficient way, thereby reducing greenhouse gases.
The pa= ving of the runway will create an opportunity for Air North and others to operate m= ore effectively into the airport and allow them to bring in more tourists, more workers and more residents at a lower cost and will also allow for expanded cargo operations in the area to feed our primary industries.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, will the minister release the results of the approach slope study? Also, why did the government make the promise to pave in the first place if it had no intention of following through with it?
Hon. Mr. Kent: Mr. Speaker, once again the Member for Klondike is about three or four months ahead of himself when he makes all of those accusations, I guess, in his question. <= /span>
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, of course we recognize the benefits of paving the Dawson runway. We have a number of airports and aerodromes throughout the territory that are importa= nt to each and every one of our communities. They’re staging grounds for= not only tourism opportunities, but also mineral development and exploration opportunities. We’ve heard from the business community about the importance of this project. Underway right now is a business case study on = the paving of the Dawson runway.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, there are a number of unanswered questions that we’re looking into ri= ght now — whether it’s geotech or waiti= ng for that written confirmation from Transport Canada. I know this is important to the Member for Klondike, but also doing our homework is extremely important when we come up with cost estimates.
As I m= entioned in a previous response here today, the Member for Klondike would be the fir= st to criticize if we were even one dollar over cost estimates when the budget came out for this. If he’ll show a little bit of patience, let us do = our homework so that we can make an informed decision on behalf of Yukon taxpay= ers.
Question
re: Ross River suspension bridge
Mr. Barr: Mr. Speaker, last month the Miles Canyon bridge was closed by= the government, following news that wood rot had made part of the structure potentially unsound. The Department of Highways and Public Works, which han= dles most government infrastructure, has been working diligently to secure assessments of the problem before creating an action plan.
A loca= l news outlet reports that a planning process could begin by the end of the month. Meanwhile, in Ross River, the Department of Community Services’ work = on the long-standing and known problems with the Ross River bridge are only in their second phase of repairs. In September, the Community Serv= ices minister wrote in a letter that they were seeking funding options for that work.
Has the government secured funding to proceed with phase= 2 repairs of the Ross River bridge?
Hon. Mr. Dixon: The simple answer is no, we have not yet secured that funding.= I indicated in a letter previously to the community, to the Chief of the Ross River Dena Council, that we would be seeking funding going forward. We have completed the first-stage engineering work and now we are considering how to come up with the funds to do the work necessary to bring that bridge back to good standing.
I have= noted before that there is currently a significant degree of uncertainty with fed= eral infrastructure funding, but we are hopeful that this bridge will indeed be eligible for that type of funding. It remains to be seen what sort of priorities and what sort of structure the new federal government will put in place for infrastructure funding. Once we have an understanding of what tha= t is going to be, we will move forward with our partners to explore options for funding that project.
Mr. Barr: Mr. Speaker, in Ross River the suspension bridge is a primary piece of community infrastructure. This project has been in the works for far too long, unlike= the quick reaction to problems on the Miles Canyon bridge. It took years for the Yukon Party to act on what they knew about the Ross River bridge. It’s time to end this saga. It has taken far too long to complete the Ross River bridge.
Will t= he government commit funds in specific terms and complete the repairs on the R= oss River bridge in a timely fashion?
Hon. Mr. Dixon: Mr. Speaker, I need to point out that we have expended considerable money on this project already. Government of Yukon has approve= d a budget of $1.5 million of Building Canada funds to stabilize the Ross River= bridge, which enabled the preservation of its heritage= value and ensured public safety. This work has been completed.
The ne= xt phase of work will be added to add stairs, repair the decking of the bridge and replace the cabling system. This work is required before the bridge can be = reopened. We are awaiting response from the Government of Canada regarding our application for the next phase of infrastructure funding. We don’t kn= ow exactly what that funding is going to look like yet. I’m sure, from t= he commitments made in the election, that it will be robust, new federal infrastructure funding, and I look forward to discussing options for funding this bridge in Ross River with the department and seeki= ng funding from our federal counterparts.
Question
re: Contaminated sites
Ms. Moorcroft:= span> Mr. Speaker, environmental liabilities held by the Government of Yukon have increased every single year since 2011, both in co= st and in the number of contaminated sites. Yukon Public Accounts show that, a= s of March 31, 2015, the government has recorded $29 million as a liability for = the costs related to the remediation of contaminated sites for which the govern= ment is responsible. There is $12 million, or 40 percent of the liabilities, for highway maintenance camps and airports.
Why is= the number of contaminated sites in Yukon on the rise?
Hon. Mr. Istchenko: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do thank the member opposite fo= r the question.
The Yu= kon government is investing almost $3 million in 2015 on remediating eight Yukon government-owned properties around the territory. In addition, there is work underway to begin remediating the Marwell tar p= it.
Remedi= ating contaminated sites does reduce the risk to human and environmental health — that’s why we remediate them — and the result is a clea= ner and safer environment.
In add= ition to the remediation work on eight properties, assessment and/or monitoring is occurring on 50 other government-owned sites. We’re working and moving forward on some of our government liabilities and we look forward to seeing them cleaned up so we can have a cleaner, safer environment.
Ms. Moorcroft: The government is now aware of 86 sites as of March 31, 2015 — up from 74 sites in 2014 where the government is obligated, or is likely obligated, to incur costs for the remediation of contaminated sites.
As the= minister said, remediation work is in progress in the Marwell= span> tar pit where the Government of Canada is funding 70 percent of the remedia= tion costs and for one other highway maintenance camp. That leaves 35 highway maintenance camps and airports that are contaminated with no remediation wo= rk being undertaken currently.
How do= es the government identify which sites receive remediation work, and will the mini= ster table the schedule for the remediation of the 35 Highways and Public Works contaminated sites?
Hon. Mr. Istchenko: How we come up with which site needs to be cleaned up — they’re prioritized by the ones that are the worst. For example, the = Marwell tar pit is a multi-year project co-funded thr= ough an agreement with the Government of Canada. Phase 1 assessment activities a= re now complete, and the project is moving into phase 2 remediation. = p>
A requ= est for proposals to procure this remediation construction will be developed this f= all. It is anticipated that the contract will be awarded early in the new year so the remediation can continue.
Regula= r project updates are communicated to the affected First Nations — so the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council and= the Kwanlin Dün First Nation — as well as the affected individuals a= nd businesses.
We hav= e a liability list of environmental liabilities that we clean up — the wo= rst ones first — and we work away. As we clean it up, then we have one off our liability, but there is always going to be another that appears. When y= ou develop in the Yukon and you believe in economic development and you believ= e in moving forward with better infrastructure for Yukoners, you’re going = to come across liabilities.
Ms. Moorcroft: You can avoid creating environmental liabilities. The minister has said they are prioritizing the work based on what the worst ones are, and he has talked a= bout the work that is being done at the Marwell tar = pit, largely being funded by the federal government, but he hasn’t said how they are prioritizing or said that he will table a report of when they are going to be doing the work.
We kno= w all too well the harms and the costs of historical environmental liabilities. Many = of them occurred when people either didn’t know or didn’t care abo= ut the harms that were done to the environment, but the minister is making it sound like he thinks that they’re inevitable. Government could be providing leadership on reducing environmental contamination through responsible waste management, using less harmful practices and products that are less hazardous to the environment.
What d= irection has the minister provided to ensure that more Highways and Public Works cam= ps and airports are not added to the current list of 36 contaminated sites in = that department alone?
Hon. Mr. Pasloski: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Leadership is exactly what this Y= ukon Party government has done. Mr. Speaker, it’s under this Yukon Pa= rty government that a Site Assessment and Remediation unit was created, where t= here is ongoing assessment of properties across this territory. This is reviewed= by the Auditor General of Canada, Mr. Speaker.
We con= tinue to work at identifying areas that are booked as environmental liabilities, Mr.= Speaker. As we do the work, we have an ongoing reassessment of what the value of that liability is. As we make those investments, we then are able to remove those liabilities off of our books.
I can = also assure the members opposite, as all Yukoners know, that when we look at all= of our assets — our cash and our assets — and we subtract our liabilities, including our environmental liabilities, Mr. Speaker, this government continues to have money in the bank. We are soon to be the only jurisdiction in this country without any net debt.
Question
re: Children’s dental health program
Ms. Stick: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Oral health starts at birth. That’s why Yukon’s preschool dental health program delivers presentations to Yuk= on parents who play a key role in keeping their children’s teeth healthy= and clean. But the number of presentations to parents has fallen from 18 presentations five years ago to only five this year.
Last s= pring, I asked the minister to explain the drop in service and he responded that there’s a shortage in dental therapists due to the closure of the training facility in 2011. He did say that the government had converted thr= ee vacant dental therapist positions to hygienists and that these positions had been filled. What he didn’t explain though, Mr. Speaker, is why = the number of dental presentations to parents had fallen over 70 percent over t= he past five years. Can the minister today provide Yukon parents with an explanation?
Hon. Mr. Nixon: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Addressing the member opposite, s= he is correct that the National School of Dental Therapy in Saskatchewan closed in November of 2011. This was the only school in Canada that provided training= for dental therapists.
Yukon&= #8217;s children’s dental program is focusing on preventive treatment and has been converting vacant dental therapist positions to dental hygienist positions, as the member indicated. As I understand it, there are a total of four dental hygienist positions within that program. Certainly, we thank th= ose individuals for providing the service throughout the territory. This Yukon Party government continues to look at options for all Yukon communities and= , Mr. Speaker, we will continue to have those discussions and continue to have dialogue wi= th stakeholders here in the territory to see how best we move forward. =
Ms. Stick: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s the same answer as last spring, but it doesn’t tell us why the numbers are down and what we’re doing to increase those. The children’s dental program is a school-based dental health program for children from preschool up to grade 8 in Whitehorse, and= up to grade 12 in the communities. The number of visits taken by dentists to o= ur rural communities has fallen over 50 percent over the past five years. There are 90-percent fewer health fairs and presentations given in our communitie= s. The impacts of these cuts are already evident. A Dawson City dentist said earlier this month — and I quote: “I just visited a community in the north and I examined 31 children and of those 31 only three had no deca= y, so it’s going downhill.”
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, what is this government doing to restore services to the Yukon childrenR= 17;s dental health program in the face of these challenges?
Hon. Mr. Nixon: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would certainly take the opport= unity to thank the dentists who we do contract for a number of Yukon communities. Certainly the program, as I had indicated, is contracting with local dentis= ts to provide services in Whitehorse schools, where existing staff are not abl= e to provide the services. Most local dentists, we do know and understand, may n= ot be interested in servicing some of the outlying communities. We’ll continue to work with our stakeholders. We have identified that there is an issue in the territory; that issue has been created because of the closure = and the reduction of the dental therapists that were available to Yukon, but we’ll continue to work with the stakeholders and we’ll continue= to have discussions within government to find out the best move forward on this issue.
Ms. Stick: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I heard the minister confirm that there is an issue and we’re not getting appropriate dental health care in the communities to our preschoolers or to our schoolchildren. Health Canada says there is a direct link between oral disease and other health problems, such= as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and respiratory illnesses later in life. T= he evidence is clear. Investing in preventive and therapeutic dental health wi= ll lead to better health outcomes for all Yukoners.
We have dentists; we have dental hygienists — they are able to do some of the= se fairs or educational programs. There are ways to fill these gaps. This government said it even looked into setting up a northern training school f= or dental therapists, but it would be difficult and expensive. What are expens= ive are long-term health impacts on Yukoners.
Will t= he minister provide this House with the announcements R= 12;
Speaker: Ord= er, please. The member’s time has elapsed.
Hon. Mr. Nixon: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In add= ressing the member opposite, we do understand that there is an issue in the territo= ry. We will work toward mitigating that issue and looking for options on a move= -forward basis. We will continue our dialogue with stakeholders here in the territor= y to see if there is local capacity that can pick up some of the schools. We do currently contract dentists to go to some Yukon schools, but certainly woul= d be interested in seeing how we can move that program forward.
The me= mber opposite indicated that the National School of Dental Therapy closed in 201= 1. It certainly put some pressures on Yukon, but it has put pressure on a numb= er of other territories and provinces as well, so we will continue our dialogue with stakeholders and caucus discussions, but this Yukon Party government is committed to seeing some sort of program in place to address a number of Yu= kon communities.
Speaker: The= time for Question Period has now elapsed.
Notice
of government private members’ business
Mr. Elias: Pursuant to Standing Order 14.2(7), I would like to identify the items standing in t= he name of government private members to be called on Wednesday, November 18, 2015. They are Motion No. 1047, standing the name of the Member for Watson Lake, and Motion No. 1054, standing in the name of the Member for Watson La= ke.
Speaker: We = will now proceed to Orders of the Day.
Orders of
the Day
Government
Bills
Bill No.
94: Act to Amend the Education Act
— Third Reading
Clerk: Third reading, Bill No. 94, standing in the name of the Hon. Mr. Graham.
Hon. Mr. Graham: Mr. Speaker, I move that Bill No. 94,= entitled Act to Amend the Education= Act, be now read a third time and do pass.
Speaker: It = has been moved by the Minister of Education that Bill No. 94, entitled Act to Amend the Education Act, be= now read a third time and do pass.
Hon. Mr. Graham: Mr. Speaker, I’ll be relatively brief in my comments because most of the points I made during my second reading speech or during Committee of the Whole.
I think it’s really important though that we understand exactly what the Education Appeal Tribunal does and what it was intended to do by the Legislature back in 1990. The Education Appeal Tribunal is an independent b= ody that derives its authority from the Education Act. The scope of the Education Appeal Tribunal is clearly defined to m= e in the Education Act; however, las= t year or two years ago, in 2013, the Education Appeal Tribunal agreed to hear an appeal of a decision made by CSFY, the school board responsible for French first language here in the territory; and the appeal related to a CSFY deci= sion to not allow a student to meet the requirements of a French first language diploma through distance education while attending F.H. Collins High School. The tribunal agreed to hear the appeal of this decision brought forward by = the student’s parents to the tribunal and the tribunal argued that under = the Education Act, it has the right to= hear appeals of any decisions that significantly affect the education, health or safety of their children so long as those decisions are not made by persons employed by the school.
CSFY a= ppealed that decision — or went to court to appeal that decision — beca= use they did not believe that the tribunal had the ability to hear an appeal of= its decision on French first language programming. The Yukon Education departme= nt supported CSFY in this decision because we, at the time, believed that the = Education Act clearly stated the f= our areas under which the Education Appeal Tribunal may hear appeals. To further clarify the authority of the Education Appeal Tribunal, I informed the trib= unal in September of this year that we would be proceeding with changes to the Education Act to further clarify t= he authority of the Education Appeal Tribunal. That’s all that this bill does, Mr. Speaker. It specifically authorizes the Education Appeal Tribunal to hear appeals of decisions respecting special needs, student records, a suspension decision by a school board, council or superintendent, and to hear appeals of the Minister of Education’s rejection of a proposal for a locally developed course of study. Those were the four areas outlined in the Education Act, = which was passed in 1990.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, we then went back to 1990 and to Hansard at that time to further inform ourselves about the scope and authority of the Education Appeal Tribunal. <= /span>
During= those debates, it was confirmed to us over and over that the Yukon government established the tribunal only to deal with those four particular kinds of disputes. There was no intention for the tribunal to take over from the cou= rts in all other types of disputes. This is the reason for the change. <= /p>
As I m= entioned yesterday, we have also requested that CSFY create an appeal mechanism for appeals such as this that have been brought forward that would mirror close= ly the appeals system that is available to other students in the education sys= tem so that we don’t have two separate and distinctly different appeal systems. CSFY has agreed to do that. I apologize for not having that information available to me today, but I will have it and I will provide it= to members opposite as quickly as I possibly can.
We sin= cerely believe that this will avoid a costly court battle, and we also believe tha= t it will negate further scope creep by the Education Appeal Tribunal. We do not believe that the Education Appeal Tribunal should expand their authority in= to other areas covered by other appeal mechanisms in the Education Act.
I thin= k that outlines our position. We are not intending to change any functions whatsoe= ver of the Education Appeal Tribunal. We are not intending to change any other areas in the Education Act whatsoever. This is simply an amendment to clarify the authority of the Education Appeal Tribunal. I hope that is clear enough to all members of the Legislature and I hope that we can go ahead with this change as quickly as possible.
Mr. Tredger: Mr. Speaker, I’m disappointed in how this government has chosen to deal with a situation that occurred in one of our schools. I’m used to taking a thoughtful and reasoned approach to resolving issues with the full participation of all partners. I find myself in a position where I have to = make a decision without having time to discuss or talk to various partners and members of our education community. It’s highly unusual to change an = act without a period of consultation. Yet, 15 days of consultation — just= 15 days — wasn’t provided. What we end up with is, to my mind, an imperfect solution. In our haste to resolve a situation, we may be setting a precedent that in future years we come to regret.
We had= second reading just yesterday. A number of people listened on Hansard and were formulating suggestions. I asked the minister a number of questions. They haven’t been answered. The minister talks of avoiding the courts. To = my mind, an independent tribunal is one that ensures students, parents and sch= ool communities have a right to appeal to an independent body. I’m not co= nvinced that an appeal to our school councils, boards, department personnel or the deputy minister satisfies the need for an impartial appeal. Lacking that, it could result in more court cases, but those court cases then would have to = be taken on by individuals, parents or communities.
The Ed= ucation Appeal Tribunal, by all accounts, has been very successful. Yesterday, I as= ked the minister for the number of cases that the Education Appeal Tribunal had heard and the number of rulings they made. What were the outcomes? How many were resolved before a ruling had to be made that were resolved through remediation? I didn’t get a clear answer but, as near as I can ascert= ain, those were very few. The vast majority of cases that went to the Education Appeal Tribunal were resolved in a matter satisfactory to all parties invol= ved. To my mind, the Education Appeal Tribunal has been very effective in doing = its job.
When w= e’re writing acts and when we’re producing acts — and in this case, = the Education Act does not and cannot contemplate all particular possibilities. That is why the Education Appeal Tribunal — an independent appeal tribunal — has been given the authority to determine issues to be heard. My concern is we’re defini= ng that authority to what we know now with little thought for what may come in= the future.
Anothe= r concern I have is that this issue revolves around distance education. The minister mentioned yesterday that there was one situation already that the tribunal = has heard. Distance education and correspondence are becoming increasingly important in our society as we go to computer-driven technology. This, to my mind, is a time when an appeal process may be most needed. I would ask that= the minister instruct his department upon the passing of this bill that they wo= uld develop a policy framework that would clarify the options and courses avail= able to students and how that determination will be made in the future. Again, technology has advanced to the point that we’re doing things that weren’t even contemplated five years ago, let alone 20 years ago when= the act was written. How can we ensure that our students maintain the right wit= hout a policy framework around it?
I ment= ioned yesterday that it’s unwise to legislate changes to an act as complex = as the Education Act in response t= o an incident. It’s unwise and highly unusual, especially given the previo= us success of the Education Appeal Tribunal in resolving cases. Surely, there = were other solutions possible.
WeR= 17;re changing the act — even if it is, as the minister says, a minor change — without consultation with our partners — with YTA, with First Nations, with school councils, with the wider school community. Surely a 15= -day consultation period with our partners would not have been too much to ask. Quite likely, as the minister stated, there would not have been objections,= but there may have been solutions proposed. I have faith in our educational partners to come up with reasoned and responsible solutions.
Again,= I’m concerned that issues not contemplated by the act may fall between the crac= ks of our appeal processes, necessitating court cases and battles, and winners= and losers, rather than, as the Education Appeal Tribunal did, by taking time to resolve their issues through mediation.
I am a= lso concerned about the haste with which this is being done. It’s an unus= ual measure — extraordinary — to pass an act effective retroactivel= y. I remain unconvinced of the legality of that, but rely on the minister’s assertion that he has legal opinion stating that indeed it is legal.
The ND= P does support the right of the Department of Education, First Nations, school boa= rds and school councils in their efforts to provide quality education for child= ren in their care. We will support the Commission scolaire= francophone du Yukon in pursuing francophone education, including distance education. I am, I guess, dismayed that more options weren’t on the t= able — that other solutions didn’t come forward — but despite = our strong reservations with the process that the Yukon government has followed= , we will be voting in favour of Bill No. 94. However, I do encourage the minist= er to work with all educational jurisdictions in the Yukon to establish independent, clear and accessible routes for parents, communities and stude= nts to appeal education situations, including those not currently contemplated = by the act and arising through the normal course of events, to an arm’s-length independent body.
As wel= l, since consultation has not been done, I would encourage the minister to set a time for review of Bill No. 94 to ensure that unforeseen circumstances have not arisen and to ensure that the wider school community is aware of and famili= ar with the entire appeal process.
Mr. Silver: I am rising to speak to the third reading of the Act to Amend the Education Act. We too share the statements of = our colleagues here in the opposition. It’s a matter of timing. Here we a= re at second reading in Committee of the Whole — Committee of the Whole being yesterday — and today we’re on third reading. There are o= ther bills that we haven’t even begun to debate yet; yet this seems to be pushed through. That alone isn’t enough of a reason for us to say that we’re not going to vote against this act to amend, but it does bring = up a lot of concerns. It would be different if our phones weren’t ringing = off the hook on this one, either.
A coup= le of statements need to be said before we commit this to a vote. We were present= ed this bill as minor housekeeping, although, after speaking with stakeholders= in education, it’s clear that there is more at play here. There is absolutely more at play here. I too agree that there should be more public consultation on the bill so that the public could decide what it considers = to be major or minor changes to the Ed= ucation Act.
It see= ms clear that a difference of opinion between the government and stakeholders exists= on this bill. When we spoke in Committee of the Whole, we weren’t satisf= ied with the answers that we got about the appeal process, and there are still questions remaining there and whether or not that applies evenly to all students. There are still issues as far as the explanation.
The mi= nister tried to answer some of the questions but, at the end of the day, there are still many, many questions as to whether or not this is minor housekeeping = or much more major than that.
ItR= 17;s also hard not to think that this is being pushed through because, like I said, we have bills on the roster right now that haven’t even been into second= reading yet and we’re already trying to book the Commissioner for assent here= on this bill. That’s a little disconcerting.
When w= e’re in opposition, it’s hard not to get a little suspicious sometimes. Wh= en we’ve asked for some help on this — we’ve received it in other departments. For example we had questions for the Minister of Communi= ty Services about the approaches to the changes to the Municipal Act. I spoke to the minister directly about concerns, about municipalities that didn’t have a lot of services to which to a= pply levies, and we were met with the response of “more information”, and AYC — more information was given there. The municipalities were g= iven an opportunity to walk through different scenarios. In that case, we were c= oncerned with the process but we got a positive response.
We had= another concern with the changes to the Ele= ctions Act. When you’re presented a huge bill and only given a limited amount of time, right away, in opposition, it is our due diligence to make these concerns and considerations vocal to the general public. In that particular case, we met with the Yukon Party government, which said, “Okay, let’s discuss this more. Let’s give more time. Let’s open this up to some shareholders and let’s have a more robust conversation here.” In the end, we were satisfied with those changes.
The mi= nister has to give us a little bit of leeway here, because here we are in another situation where something seems to be rushed, but here we are, in third rea= ding and assent is coming. We do have concerns. The minister stated at the begin= ning here that we’re talking about taking this tribunal back to its origin= al intent, and we have a majority Yukon Party government and this bill will pa= ss regardless, and I guess we’re going to have to take the minister on h= is word as to whether or not that is what’s happening here and what̵= 7;s at play.
Many q= uestions are still unanswered from the education community. After much thought I wil= l be voting in favour of this bill; however, I’ve made it known for the re= cord our concerns.
Speaker: If = the member now speaks, he will close debate. Does any other member wish to be heard?
Hon. Mr. Graham: I listened with some interest — quite a bit of interest actually — and some dismay to the two members opposite — that w= e didn’t have time to consult — the haste to resolve the situation, by the Mem= ber for Mayo-Tatchun. This situation arose in 2013.= We have attempted since then to find a solution. We didn’t start the leg= al action. The legal action was taken by CSFY becau= se they were unable to resolve the situation with the Education Appeal Tribunal, nor did the government, which also agreed with CSFY, to have the ability to cha= nge that situation at all.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, this was the only method to resolve this situation. Obviously mediation wasn’t going to work. The members opposite talk as if there is a great conspiracy underway here to take away the authority of the Education Appeal Tribunal. That couldn’t be further from the truth. What we’re attempting to do is to allow the Education Appeal Tribunal to deal with the same four particular kinds of disputes that they were set up to deal with in 1990. It is only because the Education Appeal Tribunal members have taken it upon themselves to expand their mandate beyond what was established in the = Education Act that we’ve had= to take this step.
The Me= mber for Mayo-Tatchun — by all accounts the Educat= ion Appeal Tribunal has been successful and we agree, and that is because, up u= ntil now, they stuck to their mandate. They have been successful within that mandate. We are saying that they should stick to that mandate. That’s= why we’re doing this. The Member for Mayo-Tatchun says that the Education Appeal Tribunal has been given the ability to deter= mine what they hear, and that is simply not accurate. That is what we want to prevent by making this specific amendment. We want to ensure that they stic= k to the mandate established under the E= ducation Act.
For th= e member opposite again to say that it’s extraordinary to pass an act retroactively — I had the opportunity to look back and see how many a= cts were changed retroactively, and all I would do is direct the member opposit= e to look back to the last NDP mandate and see how many bills were passed retroactively. It isn’t a daily occurrence, but it’s not an extraordinary happening.
I foun= d it interesting to see the member opposite supports CSFY, but he doesn’t = want to see the Education Appeal Tribunal’s authority being denied, and therefore the Education Appeal Tribunal and CSFY should go to court. I don’t understand his attitude in that area.
The ot= her thing I have to point out is that the member opposite, when he makes statements — be sure of the facts; that’s all. You have to be sure of the facts. When he isn’t sure of the facts — like even something as trivial as saying we went through second reading yesterday. Well, Mr. = Speaker, we didn’t go through second reading yesterday. We went through Commit= tee of the Whole yesterday. For the fact that I’m rushing this bill forwa= rd — Mr. Speaker, I was prepared for this bill. I’ve had a lo= t of time to think about it because we’ve been involved in this situation since 2013 and I volunteered to go ahead with this bill because I thought it was relatively simple, it was relatively straightforward, and it made no changes to the act whatsoever. What it did was clarify what was already in = the act.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, I have to say that I was wrong when I spoke to my caucus and said this is a very simple change and I’m sure the members opposite will understand = why it’s being done when I give them the facts. Well, I’ll have to apologize to them later. Mr. Speaker, it’s a very simple change. There’s nothing subversive. There’s nothing that we’re tr= ying to do in this, other than clarify what already exists.
So hav= ing said that, Mr. Speaker, I commend the bill to the House and look forward to= its passage.
Speaker: Are= you prepared for the question?
Some Hon. Members: Division.
Division
Speaker: Div= ision has been called.
Bells
Speaker: Mr.= Clerk, please poll the House.
Hon. Mr. Pasloski: Agree.
Mr. Elias: Agree.
Hon. Ms. Taylor: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Graham: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Kent: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Istchenko: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Dixon: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Cathers: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Nixon: Agree.
Ms. McLeod: Agree.
Ms. Hanson: Agree.
Ms. Stick: Agree.
Ms. Moorcroft: Agree.
Ms. White: Agree.
Mr. Tredger: Agree.
Mr. Barr: Agree.
Mr. Silver: Agree.
Clerk: Mr.&n= bsp;Speaker, the results are 17 yea, nil nay.
Speaker: The= yeas have it. I declare the motion carried.
Motion for third reading of Bill No. 94 agreed t=
o
Speaker: I d= eclare that Bill No. 94 has passed this House.
Mr. Elias: Mr. Speaker, I move that the Speaker do now leave the Chair and that the House resolve i= nto Committee of the Whole.
Speaker: It has been moved by the Government House Leader that t=
he
Speaker do now leave the Chair and that the House resolve into Committee of=
the
Whole.
Motion agreed to
Speaker leaves the Chair
Committee
of the Whole
Chair (Ms. McLeod): Order. Committee of the Whole will now come to order. <= /span>
The ma= tter before the Committee is general debate on Vote 11, Women’s Directorat= e, in Bill No. 20, entitled Second Appropriation Act, 2015-16.=
Do mem= bers wish to take a brief recess?
All Hon. Members: Agreed.
Chair: Commi= ttee of the Whole will recess for 15 minutes.
Recess
Chair: Commi= ttee of the Whole will now come to order.
Bill No.
20: Second Appropriation Act, 2015-=
16
— continued
Chair: The m= atter before the Committee is general debate on Vote 11, Women’s Directorat= e in Bill No. 20, entitled Second Approp= riation Act, 2015-16.
Women’s Directorate
Hon. Ms. Taylor: I am very pleased to present the supplementary budget for the Women’s Directorate for 2015-16.
To sta= rt off, I would just like to thank our director of the Women’s Directorate, Jennifer England, for joining us here today in the Assembly and to thank her and her team for their ongoing leadership, expertise and work day in and day out on behalf of Yukon citizens.
This b= udget that is before us today reflects many of the initiatives the Women’s Direc= torate has undertaken and continues to undertake in collaboration with and in supp= ort of our many innovative partners. The additional resources for the WomenR= 17;s Directorate will ensure that a number of key projects continue. I would lik= e to begin by highlighting some of those key projects and some of the recent successes as well.
The Women’s Directorate continues to have a very active role in the viole= nce prevention working group. This is an interdepartmental working group that is comprised of the departments of Justice, Community Services, Health and Soc= ial Services and Education.
Togeth= er this group has been working on a number of important initiatives over the course= of the past year and a half or two years, including the development of training modules for staff, a domestic violence in the workplace toolbox and revisio= ns to our communications guide. This reflects some of the innovative work that= has been spearheaded by the Liard Aboriginal Women’s Society over the yea= rs in collaboration with individuals such as Dr. Allan Wade, and the response-based approach to violence — whether in the workplace — working with victims of violence, working with organizations and of course other governments and the Government of Yukon.
This y= ear, as members opposite will recall, the Women’s Directorate, together with = the Department of Justice, were able to establish and support the implementatio= n of a three-year pilot project for a women’s legal advocate. This pilot project includes $281,000 in funding over three years. That is available fo= r a pilot position to be hosted by the Skookum Jim Friendship Centre. The new l= egal advocate is there to assist women navigating the legal system in Yukon. I w= ould like to congratulate the individual who actually received the position thro= ugh the Skookum Jim Friendship Centre, Chantal Genier. It was wonderful to see her there at the women and justice forum that was host= ed recently by the Yukon Advisory Council on Women’s Issues earlier this fall. It was wonderful to see her there and to hear her words and to speak = to her new position. We’re very pleased to be able to implement — = this is one of the key recommendations, and in fact, one of the few remaining recommendations arising from the Sh= aring Common Ground — Review of Yukon’s Police Force — Final Re= port. The report that was published back in 2011 included a recommendation to consider a legal advocate position to support women. It was premised on what was heard during the review. In particular, there were concerns voiced by w= omen at that time and continuing, in association with the criminal justice syste= m, about how to access services early on in the process and having the necessa= ry information to make those informed choices, particularly for those who are often in vulnerable places due to issues of child custody, social assistance and, in some cases, having the dynamics of social isolation in communities. Women expressed that they considered many factors when deciding to report to police or seek services from a support agency and that more information made available earlier in the process would help them make appropriate choices f= or their safety.
Based = on that particular recommendation, the Yukon Advisory Council on Women’s Issu= es, with funding from the Government of Yukon, commissioned a report: Gaps, Needs and Options: Legal Advocac= y for Yukon Women. Within that report and through engagement with communities= and service providers, YACWI identified some unique challenges for women, particularly those who have experienced sexual assault and domestic violenc= e. The decision, for example, to reach out to the RCMP or other service provid= ers such as Victim Services or an emergency shelter because of violence in the = home or because of intimate-partner violence is obviously a very difficult and important decision. It is one that often has implications — and legal implications at that — making the case for individuals to be aware of their options and the consequences and the outcomes of each path at the out= set.
Based = on all of the information that was provided — the due diligence and the consultation that YACWI did lead — they were also able to reference l= egal advocacy services not being well-understood among women, made available by service providers. Again, through collaboration and better understanding of= the services currently being delivered — and making available those overa= ll services and strengthening the communication among those various service providers was also a recommendation.
It was= also communicated that services ought to made available that are culturally relevant, that they are accessible to aboriginal women throughout the territory, that service providers — their appreciation of the cultural differences and the services that are made available, that they are sensiti= ve, reflecting on the intergenerational effects of residential schools and so forth.
From t= hat work, YACWI did come up with a couple of recommendations, and one was to create a= new legal advocate position in a non-government organization based here in Whitehorse. We were very pleased — the Minister of Justice and I R= 12; to be able to report progress and to move forward with the creation of a le= gal advocate position with the announcement of this new funding for a three-year pilot.
As I h= ave referenced before, the position will support women living in Whitehorse and rural communities by providing information support and referrals for women naviga= ting the legal system — also, as I was mentioning earlier, establishing and strengthening that strong network of collaboration for all processes with agencies such as the RCMP, Victim Services, Crown witness coordinators, Fam= ily and Children’s Services — to name but a few.
The ot= her item that this position would also be responsible for would be to initiate and coordinate regular training opportunities for and among those service provi= ders who require up-to-date information within the legal system and on legal processes. This budget does speak to that very expenditure.
Throug= h the prevention of violence against aboriginal women fund, also administered by = the Women’s Directorate, the Government of Yukon is pleased to provide $200,000 of funding to support five new community projects in this fiscal y= ear. This fund was established back in 2004 to assist or to help address the disproportionate level of violence experienced by aboriginal women in the Yukon.
To dat= e, the Yukon government has, through the Women’s Directorate, contributed al= most $2 million to the fund supporting some 70 local projects. It’s really= important to note that this fund has been very meaningful in that it has been very responsive in the fact that projects are derived from those communities and that they are delivered by aboriginal women for aboriginal women and are re= ally borne out of the priorities identified by their particular communities.
Some o= f the accomplishments through the prevention of violence against aboriginal women fund include the funding and support for A Safe Place, along with additional funds from the Women’s Directorate and the Department of Justice. Thi= s is an initiative that has been in the works for some time. It has been operati= ng in fact for almost two years if I’m not mistaken — coming up to= two years. It’s a very invaluable program that has been operating out of = the Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre and is a joint project between the Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre and the Yukon Status of Women Counci= l, which, at that time, was working in collaboration with the Second Opinion Society.
It pro= vides and it continues to provide a low-barrier, supportive drop-in space for women a= nd children in the evening hours Fridays, during the day on Saturday — a= nd Sunday evenings as well. During that time frame there are hot, nutritious m= eals included and the activities are led by the participants through the wishes = of those who drop by the centre.
The pr= ogram was initiated by these individual organizations and they were able to access so= me funding through the Government of Canada and, in part, through a small investment by the Women’s Directorate at that time. Over the first fo= ur months of the program, I know that over 100 women and some 47 children acce= ssed the evening services, so we know that program was filling a gap in services= for women who are in need of a place to be safe, to feel safe, to have a hot me= al, to warm up on those cold evenings or just to simply spend time in the compa= ny of others in a safe environment.
ItR= 17;s a low-barrier program. It allows women to come at any point that they feel th= at they need to. There are really, as I mentioned, = no barriers in entering the service. We know that because of this openness it = has built some trust with the clients who have subscribed to the service.
We kno= w that when that trust is gained, women start attending sober, bringing their kids, participating in self-care activities, and if those particular needs cannot= be filled by A Safe Place, the facilitators who are there at the program ̵= 2; that they are referred to other services within and around the city.
Based = on some of the successes of A Safe Place, we were able to also, through the community development fund about a year ago, access funding for additional data collection and some analysis and to carry on with the program. Earlier this year, the Women’s Directorate was able to provide just over $32,000 through the prevention of violence against aboriginal women funding, with an additional $7,000 on top of that. In addition to that, through the Departme= nt of Justice, $32,000 was provided from the Department of Justice and, subseq= uent to that, there was additional funding made available through the Women̵= 7;s Directorate.
Based = on this, we recognize that it is a very important program and we have had — I = know the Minister of Justice and I have had recent discussions with Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre and members of the Yukon Status of Women Coun= cil to really hear about some of the outcomes of this program — some of t= he highlights, the successes, and some of the challenges that we need to addre= ss — and some ideas for really continuing this important program beyond = this fiscal year. I’m very pleased to be able to report progress on that front.
The Women’s Directorate and First Nation and municipal governments have b= een working together to address the critical issue of murdered and missing indi= genous women and girls. We know that this crucial issue lies at the heart of compl= ex social challenges in the north. Violence against women in Yukon is some thr= ee times the national average, and we know that the violence experienced by indigenous women is far greater than that.= p>
In con= sultation and in collaboration with women’s organizations, we will be co-hostin= g a family gathering and a Yukon Regional Roundtable on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. In December, the family gathering will happen a= nd then, of course, in February 2016 will be the roundtable itself. The purpos= e of those events is to ensure that families of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls feel supported, that their voices are honoured and that the= ir voices are meaningfully integrated both at the territorial and the national level.
The ro= undtable will really be an opportunity to highlight practices, opportunities for collaborative initiatives, to address gaps for families here in Yukon, and = our hope ultimately is that, through these two territorial initiatives, we will= be able to provide a strong northern perspective at the next national roundtab= le and of course being able to also be able to reflect upon the work of the federal government and the critical role that they will be playing in hosti= ng, or in initiating a national inquiry, on this very subject.
As for= several of the initiatives that I have just referenced, additional resources are required to continue the important work of the Women’s Directorate an= d, as such, we are requesting an overall increase of $123,000, bringing our bu= dget to just over $2 million. As I referenced, some of the money is going in sup= port of three funding programs — revotes total= ling $81,000. The first is for year 2 funding for three organizations and the prevention of violence against aboriginal women; the second is to complete a project under the Yukon Aboriginal Women’s Summit implementation fund= ing; and the third is to carry forward funding for year 3 for one organization u= nder the women’s equality fund.
There = is an increase of $32,000 in funding also for the transfer payment agreement for A Safe Place program coming forward from the Department of Justice, with the Women’s Directorate providing the remaining $7,000. Finally, there is also a carry-forward of $10,000 in lapsed funding to offset contracts for t= he gender-equalities indicators project and the gender-inclusive diversity analysis project.
Madam = Chair, I see my time is up. I look forward to fielding any and all questions from th= e members opposite and again, I wish to thank our officials for their great work.
Ms. White: I thank the minister for her opening statements and I welcome the official to= the Chamber.
I was = just looking through Hansard, trying to figure out when we discussed the Women’s Directorate in the spring budget and I couldn’t find the date right now, but that’s okay. First I am going to start off by apologizing to the minister because the last series of questions I had were hard-hitting and it was at the end of the day and she didn’t have a chance to respond, so I am going to start with probably quite easily the mo= st complicated questions, just to give her a chance to respond and then I̵= 7;ll move into a lot less rocky ground after that. I didn’t give the minis= ter the opportunity the last time and I’m going to this time, so I thank = her for possibly listening to very similar notes that I had the first time. I w= as trying to find what I had originally said, so I wouldn’t repeat it verbatim and that might be the case, so I thank the minister and her offici= al for their patience.
In the= spring, we started referencing the access to abortion services in the territory bec= ause of the critical importance for reproductive choice, including the choice to have a safe abortion. It is important to note that it is a human right protected under international law. Yukon has one of the highest abortion ra= tes in the country, yet Yukon women seeking an abortion have limited options. Referral for a surgical abortion must be obtained through a family physicia= n or community nurse and they are only available up to 12 weeks at the Whitehorse General Hospital. Women without a family physician must go to an ER or a walk-in clinic for a referral. Some women must see more than one provider to get that referral and after 12 weeks, limited capacity means women are sent= Outside for the procedure.
This g= overnment currently does not have a clear strategy to ensure women throughout the territory have unimpeded access to abortion. Dating ultrasounds are necessa= ry for both surgical and medical abortions. Neither the Dawson City nor Watson Lake hospitals are able to do this in-house. They are only available in Whitehor= se, and this means that women in rural communities must find a way into Whiteho= rse for a dating ultrasound. They often may have to return to their home communities to await an abortion schedule and then come back to Whitehorse = for a day surgery, which may include extra days for pre- and post-operation car= e. It can take two to five weeks for the entire process from beginning to end.= We do not hear a clear health strategy to ensure access to abortion. The first= and only study of women’s access to abortion in Yukon that I am aware of comes from a 2014 graduate thesis. It found that there are barriers to acce= ssing an abortion close to home and in a timely manner. These gaps could be addre= ssed — for example, an abortion clinic could be equipped to provide access= to dating ultrasounds, therapeutic and medical abortions, abortion care and contraceptive counselling. These clinics exist in other jurisdictions with communities of similar sizes.
What i= s the Women’s Directorate doing to help support unimpeded access to abortion services and care in Yukon? Will it look into the option of an abortion cli= nic in Whitehorse? Will it support the Department of Health and Social Services= in developing one? Will it look into enabling nurse practitioners or physician= s to provide abortions in rural Yukon?
Hon. Ms. Taylor:= I was just getting a quick update from our official her= e in the Legislative Assembly. What I can say is that I know that the Women’s Directorate, at the time, in terms of expanding options for women when it c= omes to sexual, reproductive, and menopause health-related concerns pertinent to women — I know that the Women’s Directorate was very instrument= al in informing discussions, helping with discussions and working with the Department of Health and Social Services. I believe also through the Yukon Hospital Corporation too — perhaps I’m wrong there on that front — however, as a result of those discussions, patients can now visit o= ne of those two clinics that have just recently arrived in the last handful of years. The Yukon Sexual Health Clinic or the Yukon Women’s MidLife Health Clinic is related to sexual, reproduct= ive and menopause health concerns. Those clinics have a nurse practitioner as t= heir primary care provider.
Again,= they work collaboratively, as I understand, and consultatively with physicians on the ground and a variety of other health care providers. Of course we’ve = been able to work over the years with other service providers — Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre, for example — on the operation and maintenance funding in support of operating the Rural Pregnant Moms program= .
With r= espect to the specific questions, I do not have that information at my fingertips. Th= at is really housed within the Department of Health and Social Services. We can certainly endeavour to look into those specific questions, but I don’t have that information at my fingertips, other than to say, on a higher leve= l, that one rationale for really working to come in partnership with those hea= lth providers is to expand those options for women through the availability of those two clinics.
Ms. White: I think there are a couple of things to focus on in the response the minister just gave. The Women’s Directorate was involved= in conversations to advocate for a menopause clinic for women going through midlife health issues. That is the complete opposite, essentially, of what I’m talking about, but the Women’s Directorate has a role to pl= ay in facilitating those conversations within the community about women’s access to reproductive health. I know, based on our experience in the sprin= g when we were asking questions about this, that this was not an easy one. I appreciate that, but it goes back to the fact that it’s a human right= to be able to access these services.
Knowin= g that the Women’s Directorate was able to have conversations and help develop t= hese separate clinics for women — the midlife health clinic that the minis= ter referenced and, of course, the sexual health clinic. But neither of those clinics deal with what I’m talking about, = which is access to abortions in a timely fashion. I can’t imagine being a y= oung woman in a rural community who is faced with a hard choice — and then what has to happen for that final decision.
Can th= e minister let me know if this is on the radar of the Women’s Directorate as a conversation that they’re willing to have with the community in advan= cing women’s access to reproductive health?
Hon. Ms. Taylor:= Madam Chair, I guess I go back to the Women’s Directorate. Over the years we worked on many different files all in suppor= t of advancing women’s equality on many different levels — legal, so= cial and economic equality and so forth. I think that the Women’s Director= ate has been quite responsive to challenges that are identified and to issues of importance. I think that over the years I have been able to articulate a nu= mber of various issues that we have worked on. I just outlined a number of them.=
We hav= e been really focused on a variety of issues from violence prevention, public education and helping inform housing options. In fact, earlier today, we we= re able to announce a new service provider to provide that overall management = and deliver programming in support of the Whitehorse affordable housing residen= ce in Riverdale. We have been able to work with Yukon Housing Corporation and = that was really a strategic investment in support of single-parent families, the lion’s share of which, unfortunately, still remains women. That’= ;s not to say there are not any single men out there. There are increasingly single men as well, but that housing initiative is one example from the Women’s Directorate, which has been very responsive and has identified the need for programming as well to assist those tenants. We were able to v= ery proudly announce a partnership with the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition earlier today, and they and a number of different partners will be able to help del= iver enhanced programming in support of those tenants to be able to live independently in a safe environment for their kids and for their families — that’s but one example.
I just= mentioned earlier how, yes, one of those health clinics is for menopause health conce= rns, but I think the member opposite also missed the other words — sexual = and reproductive. I’m very pleased to be able to have had our officials w= ork with the Department of Health and Social Services and other health care practitioners to identify that there was a need and a gap in that service — so how can we close that gap? How can we be responsive? That work d= id take a role a few years ago and really helped to inform the development and= the creation of those two particular clinics.
To the= member opposite’s question, of course the Women’s Directorate is always open and always responsive to issues of concern. The Women’s Director= ate — our job — it’s very similar to the French Language Serv= ices Directorate, working with and alongside all of our other aligned department= s. In this case, it would be the Department of Health and Social Services and through the Whitehorse General Hospital, Yukon Hospital Corporation and so forth.
One th= ing that we have been able to help advance – and I’ve spoken to this in = the past — is the gender-inclusive diversity analysis and how we did an evaluation of how we are doing in terms of our work with other departments.= I have spoken at great length, and I don’t want to repeat myself, but it did identify a number of areas where there were some gaps and how can we be= tter work with those departments — how can we better track those requests = for assistance? How can we better respond to those requests? How can we follow-= up after having provided advice? We are working on that in the midst of many o= ther initiatives.
I just referenced the Yukon Regional Roundtable on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. That is quite a priority of this government’s party = of mine. I am very proud of being able to collaborate with the Chief of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and our Yukon aboriginal women’s organizations on coming together and co-chairing this regional roundtable. = That is of utmost importance and that’s why we have developed programming. That’s why we continue to work in partnership and help inform those decisions and those discussions that are ongoing, not just here in the territory, but across the country as well.
Likewi= se, we support the Yukon aboriginal women’s organizations and, in fact, in t= his case, the Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle has agreed to host the Yukon family gathering that will be taking place in mid-December. That is g= oing to be a very pivotal gathering. We certainly look forward to the outcome of that gathering, but having a place where those voices are meaningfully heard and are reflected at the regional roundtable will help inform our discussio= ns and our decisions going forward in terms of what it is that we can do to address violence in our communities. That too is a priority.
I refe= renced the gender-inclusive diversity analysis — a huge undertaking. That review= was a five-year retrospective of the Women’s Directorate. It was really t= he first of its kind. In fact, we have spoken to it on a national front for ot= her jurisdictions’ reflection, and we’re proud of that work. We are working with the Province of Alberta and the newly formed Status of Women ministry there as well. They are going over what they are calling the “GBA+” — another acronym. We are looking for the results = of their work and we are working seamlessly with the Government of Alberta as = well as other jurisdictions to help inform the implementation plan for our GIDA evaluation as well.
WeR= 17;ve also been very much focused on the gender-equality indicators project. Again, th= at has been a very huge project in the making. We haven’t really had a project of this kind since 1999 and so that will also help inform the bluep= rint on where we go from here.
That a= nd — not to mention that funding streams have probably close to quadrupled over = the last decade in terms of supporting a number of different organizations in t= he territory. There is a lot going on in the Women’s Directorate —= and being mindful that we have to be strategic and we have to be very focused, = and very responsive to the needs of the community that we are working to repres= ent. Hopefully that provides a little bit of additional clarity for the member opposite.
Ms. White: Clarity certainly to other good initiatives within the Women’s Directorate — but certainly veered away from the topic of conversation. = p>
The mi= nister mentioned strategic investments in women’s health and talked about facilitating programming at the single-parent units, and I think that is all really important work. Absolutely the National Roundtable on Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls — I will get back to that.=
But ri= ght now, my focus is on Yukon women’s access to reproductive choices. <= /p>
If the Women’s Directorate was approached by Yukon women’s organizatio= ns to champion a conversation around Yukon women’s access to reproductive choice, would the Women’s Directorate be open to facilitating that ki= nd of territory-wide conversation?
Hon. Ms. Taylor: Madam Chair, with respect to any and all requests, we’re certainly responsive to hearing any and all concerns out there from among t= he organizations or individuals, but the Department of Health and Social Servi= ces is a major key player in all of this. In terms of whether or not we would h= ave a conversation with the Minister of Health and Social Services and determine where this lies within the priorities within the Department of Health and Social Services, I’m not entirely clear as to where this sits without having recent information or statistics in front of me or concerns brought = to our attention.
Again,= like we have on many different fronts over the years, we’ll continue to work = with the communities that we have worked pretty closely with over the last numbe= r of years.
The Yu= kon Advisory Council on Women’s Issues has provided strategic advice over= the years. Again, just making reference to the number of different forums that they’ve held over the years, speaking to a number of different priori= ty areas — those are all very key in helping to inform decisions and dis= cussions, for example, as it refers to the women’s legal advocate who we were a= ble to help go to work with the Department of Justice. That was a recommendation that also came and was born out of the Sharing Common Ground report, the review of Yukon’s police system. Hopefu= lly that provides some added clarity for the member opposite.
Ms. White: I = think that if the Women’s Directorate was involved with a push for women’s clinics, they can be involved in this conversation as well. <= /span>
I can&= #8217;t disagree — I absolutely agree that Health and Social Services is key, obviously, in the formation of, for example, an abortion clinic — but so is the Women’s Directorate in champion= ing issues that affect Yukon women: their health, their well-being, their futur= es. I’m just going to leave that on the table.
Part o= f this ability to make choices about our bodies also involves contraception. Acces= s to effective, affordable contraception can avert two thirds of unintended pregnancies. Access to contraception has a multitude of benefits for women = and for families, and has other health outcomes, including reproductive health, autonomy and, of course, STI prevention. Currently this government’s approach to contraception is largely based on the provision of free condoms= . To be perfectly frank, every bar you go into, there’s a cleverly disguis= ed pot or bowl or a thing on the counter, and some of the seasonal packaging of those condoms is absolutely spectacular. I think they have a lot of conversations, and that is a good thing to have those condoms available.
But co= ndoms are among the least effective forms of contraception. Has the Women’s Directorate done any research on the promotion or provision of long-acting, reversible contraceptives such as IUDs? Has it done any research on expandi= ng the consultation of health providers permitted to prescribe contraceptives, insert IUDs and otherwise support expanded access to contraception? Has the Women’s Directorate done any research on the impacts that providing subsidized or free contraceptives may have on the rates of unintended pregnancies, abortions and the health of women?
Hon. Ms. Taylor: I was just receiving an update from the Women’s Director= ate. We have not been actively engaged in discussions to actively promote other forms of birth control and contraception available for women. That’s = not to say that we wouldn’t but, as I referenced before, I do know that in the past we were in discussions with the Department of Health and Social Services that helped lead to the creation of those two women’s clinics that were referenced earlier.
I̵= 7;m not trying to predict the near future of the Women’s Directorate, but I can’t say enough how very fully consumed the Women’s Directorat= e is on a number of key initiatives right now. I’m very proud of the fact = that this government reinstated the Women’s Directorate back in 2002. Not = only did we do that, but we’ve also helped staff up the Women’s Directorate, leant to added capacity in the Women’s Directorate, and = we have also quadrupled the level of funding in support of women’s organizations to do a lot of public education and prevention initiatives. It’s not to say that all of that falls on their shoulders because it certainly does not.
ItR= 17;s a partnership, and much of that work falls to the line department, whether that’s the Department of Health and Social Services, Department of Justice, Victim Services — or whether that is in the Department of Education, providing information in our classrooms or working with Yukon College, or working with the Yukon Hospital Corporation. There are many var= ious departments that we work in collaboration with and we’ll continue to = work — as I referenced before, working on the gender-inclusive diversity analysis, providing some added focus as well to where it is that we focus o= ur efforts on. That will provide us with some better options for providing training — whether that is for front-line service workers, policy individuals working within departments, or working with communications individuals working within the departments.
In ter= ms of tracking the requests that we receive from departments from time to time, determining how effective that advice was, to be able to then report or to = be able to solicit the feedback from those departments — was it useful? Where did it go? Did it go anywhere? Being able to measure in a very delibe= rate manner — how are we doing? That will also, in part, help inform our w= ork that is currently underway with respect to the gender-equality indicators project — another massive project that we’ve had to work very h= ard on with many different departments throughout the Government of Yukon, utilizing all the different research papers, working on a number of reports that have been published over the years, working with Statistics Canada, the Bureau of Statistics through Executive Council Office in the Yukon governme= nt — whether it is working with the Council of Yukon First Nations ̵= 2; and obtaining all that information, compiling it in a very useful, methodic= al and clear way that is easily read and very relevant and responsive to what organizations are working on — and individuals and businesses and so forth. Between those particular projects, as well as — as I mentioned — addressing violence against aboriginal women and girls — has,= and continues to remain, a priority for us as well.
That i= s why we have worked so diligently over the last decade-plus on a number of Yukon aboriginal women’s summits and coming up with a series of recommendat= ions and then working with those individual Yukon aboriginal women’s organizations to be able to implement those recommendations.
In man= y respects — and I continue to hear it — Yukon has been leading the way in terms of addressing this particular issue, the Sisters in Spirit initiative — one that was really spearheaded by Native Women’s Association= of Canada some time ago. The funding had been depleted, and the Government of Canada did not choose to renew that funding. The Yukon government, through = the Women’s Directorate, was able to support that initiative in going forward.
The Yu= kon Aboriginal Women’s Council did a great job and from there we were abl= e to allocate dollars — almost $2 million — over the last number of years in support of implementing those recommendations coming out of those individual aboriginal women’s summits. That work is very pivotal, as = is the youth gathering that took place at Jackson Lake.
For a = couple of years in a row, we’ve had a couple of very successful Yukon First Nat= ion youth gatherings that have been held — the first one in Brooks Brook,= the second one in Jackson Lake. From there, there was a report in the works and= a series of recommendations. Also, there’s a Brothers in Spirit report = as well. I know that the Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle has worked very diligently on engaging men and boys. I know that the Liard Aboriginal Women’s Society has also been working very hard and diligently in our schools and has just been able to leverage our funding to access dollars fr= om the Government of Canada to initiate a great, innovative, creative project engaging young men and boys in our schools when it comes to violence against women.
Our wo= rk has really been over the years to support those grassroots organizations on the ground through women’s equality funding, but also through the prevent= ion of violence against aboriginal women fund and through also separate funding streams in support of implementing those recommendations from those aborigi= nal women’s summits. Now we are looking to take that one step beyond and really take all of that information at our fingertips, tabling it and reflecting on what has been accomplished, what the gaps are that remain and what we need to do to address violence in our communities — that means not just the Yukon government, but also First Nation governments, aboriginal women’s organizations, youth, elders and individuals who represent our municipal governments. We need to convene a roundtable to be able to bring = all the various players to the table, including the RCMP.
I comm= end the working group that has been assembled and has been working the past couple months on this initiative getting ready for the regional roundtable in February. It’s very timely in terms of the change in government in Ca= nada and how that fits within their overall mandate of holding a national inquir= y on missing and murdered indigenous women.
Again,= Yukon is taking leadership on many different fronts and that’s just talking to= a few key initiatives, but again, the Women’s Directorate has been very busily engaged with the community on many different fronts.
I comm= end their leadership and we’re very fortunate to have such expertise in our sho= p to help inform and help work on addressing some of these issues that have been around for many, many years. So we are making progress on a number of front= s. Is there more work to be done? Absolutely. There= will always be more work to be done and we are always open and responsive.
Right = now, as I mentioned before, we certainly are fully engaged on these handful of differ= ent files that we want to do well. That will also help inform the work that goes forward in a very targeted, strategic and responsive fashion that will be f= or the benefit of all women and girls in our territory.
Ms. White: Thank you Madam Chair. There is phenomenal opportunity now that we allow access t= o, for example, the Internet in the Assembly. It’s interesting to note t= hat the population of the territory is now at 37,343 people and, out of that, 18,222 are women. So it seems to me that the fantastic work that’s be= ing done right now by the Women’s Directorate with the less than $2-milli= on annual budget could even be increased and strengthened by increasing that budget. It would be a great thing.
Imagin= e if the Women’s Directorate doubled their budget for next year and the great = work they could do — the research they could do — and the advocating with the Department of Health and Social Services for women’s ability= to access services that affect them.
I̵= 7;m just going to keep going because that seems like the thing to do.
I thin= k that it’s important to note that this government, in all departments, does= not track access to contraception or abortion. What information that is tracked= is really poor. It’s really hard to make decisions about how to move for= ward when we don’t have that information. I am putting out the pitch that = it would be fantastic if it was the Women’s Directorate that was leading that because women are the best to understand issues that other women are facing.
There = was a really disturbing interview with Yukon’s chief medical officer of hea= lth earlier this month when he told us that Yukon was experiencing an alarming = rise in the rate of gonorrhea infections. He said that so far this year there ha= ve been 90 known cases of gonorrhea, twice the number of cases than last year. That is nine times the number of cases since 2013. Dr. Hanley then went on = to say that chlamydia continues to be a big problem, as it’s still far m= ore common than gonorrhea, and both sexually transmitted infections can cause sterility if they are not treated properly. The chief medical officer says = that this spike is largely concentrated in teens and young adults. We know that = the current spike in Yukon’s STIs include disproportionately higher rates= in rural Yukon, and we also know that the onus of being tested is largely fall= ing on young girls and women.
Was the Women’s Directorate involved or consulted in the development of the current No Big Deal STI testing campaign being undertaken by Health and Soc= ial Services? What, if anything, is being done to promote equal responsibility = for sexual health among our young people so that the onus is being shared equal= ly? What role did the Women’s Directorate play in the No Big Deal STI tes= ting campaign?
Hon. Ms. Taylor:= According to the Women’s Directorate, I don’= ;t believe there was any discussion or collaboration on that particular campai= gn. I don’t have access to the entire Women’s Directorate, so that = is just at first blush — speaking to that particular campaign.
Ms. White: In asking about that was just making sure that — one of the roles of the Women’s Directorate is to view everything through that lens. It seems like that would have been something that could have been steered in a diffe= rent way so that the onus of responsibility wasn’t solely put on young wom= en.
We wer= e talking about access to contraception. It also really comes down to teen pregnancy.= The rate of pregnancy for women under the age of 19 rose 33 percent from 2012 to 2013, and I think it’s really important to note that this is the most recent data that we have. Unfortunately we don’t know the breakdown of pregnancies for Whitehorse women versus in rural communities, which is also really important in directing how we look at the data.
We als= o know from local and national research that northern and rural communities are at= a greater risk of unintended pregnancies, and that is in part due to a lack of appropriate contraception and sexual health education. What, if any, other research or analysis has the Women’s’ Directorate done on the status of sexual health education in Yukon schools? Has the Women’s Directorate been involved in the development or the delivery of SHER, which= was designed by Yukon educators and the Health Promotion unit within Health and Social Services and offers comprehensive sexual health education resources = for grades 4 to 7? What is being provided to other grades outside of the grades= 4 to 7, and is the Women’s Directorate involved in that conversation?= span>
Hon. Ms. Taylor:= When it comes to whether or not the Women’s Direc= torate delivered sexual health curriculum, again, I refer to the line department, Department of Health and Social Services. It is the lead department when it comes to delivering sexual health curriculum.
As to = whether or not the Women’s Directorate has a role to play — yes we do have= a role to play in terms of sitting on a committee that helps inform. I could = not speak — this would be more of a line discussion with the Minister of Health and Social Services, with whom I’m sure the member opposite can carry on that line of questioning.
In ter= ms of Women’s Directorate, we sit on a variety of committees. There have be= en interdepartmental, collaborative initiatives over the years. We’ve be= en doing more so — again, with added capacity.
I will= just refer to — when we were first elected in 2002, I think the whole budget for our department was sitting at about $500,000, if that. I believe at that time we were helping fund Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre and the Yukon Status of Women Council. Today we are on= a number of different funding sources. We are supporting the very valuable wo= rk of many different organizations beyond Victoria Faulkner Women’s Cent= re and the Yukon Status of Women Council.
In fac= t, we provide funding for many different organizations. The Yukon Aboriginal Women’s Council, the Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle and t= he Liard Aboriginal Women’s Society are but three of those organizations that continue to be leaders in our territory in terms of helping to inform = the work going forward. We have been funding other organizations, as I mentione= d before. I don’t have the list right in front of me.
The po= int is that we have been working towards expanding the capacity of those organizat= ions and expanding their ability to leverage additional sources from other fundi= ng mechanisms as well. I think that, over the years — and I have not been around for a long time, but over the past 13 years that I have been around, I’ve seen great proliferation of organizations out there doing some invaluable work on behalf of the women’s community. The creation of t= he women’s coalition is great to see — in terms of even coming up = with the 12 Days to End Violence Against Women campai= gn, which will be kicking off next week. You know, t= he work of Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre and Les EssentiElles — 17 different organizations that they’ve leveraged partnerships from — it is very invaluable and it’s great to see that by work= ing together and collectively that we’re able to even be more strategic in our work.
So in = terms of, again, working on a more cohesive, strategic effort, I keep referring to the retrospective evaluation of GIDA that took place over the past five years a= nd, again, it was to really assess the effectiveness of our work on GIDA over t= he past five years to identify those lessons learned. What has worked well? Wh= at needs improvement? Identifying gaps in sources, collection of data in what areas — it has also helped frame a new evaluation framework that will help support our Women’s Directorate to track and to modify how and w= hat is offered.
That i= s very important work that is going on and I know that we’re working on the implementation plan of that evaluation that took place and we know that the= re are many areas that we need to work on and we’re very much committed = to. That is why we triggered the GIDA evaluation and the analysis, and we’= ;re now working on the implementation plan, drawing upon expertise from other jurisdictions. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, but looking to other jurisdictions like the Province of Alberta.
Whether it’s working to enhance training for our stakeholders and where we can help influence the quality of analysis and the outcome of government policy-making, we’re looking on many different fronts. I just cannot = say enough about the work that is being undertaken internally by the Women̵= 7;s Directorate.
At the= onset of my opening remarks, we referred to the violence prevention working group. I= t is another strategic initiative that we have been working on over the past two years with the Department of Health and Social Services, with the Departmen= t of Justice, with the Department of Community Services and many others — coming up with ways to support our employees through the organization to address violence in the workplace and how we can assist victims of violence= in the workplace. Again, we are coming up with training to help deliver that response-based training to those front-line service workers to be able to be more responsive to the needs and also by being able to reach out to a numbe= r of other key stakeholders.
On the= violence prevention front, we are coming up with a toolkit to assist with management= and providing that outreach that we could be doing a better job internally, wit= hin each of our departments. This may not be as external to government, but it = is important work and it is something that has been identified as a priority. = It is another collaborative way of reaching out across the spectrum in our government organization and working to see how we can better address this i= ssue — likewise, there is the outreach that we’re working on as co-chairs on the regional roundtable for missing and murdered indigenous wo= men and girls.
Of cou= rse, we have been reaching out to our federal counterparts as well, engaging the Government of Canada in a dialogue as to how they can also assist our effor= ts — by being able to work with youth, elders; being able to work with representatives from municipalities. Of course there’s much to do. Th= ere is always going to be more work to be done, but one of the things that we w= ere able to do early on with the Women’s Directorate was have a full-time position working on and working with aboriginal women’s organizations, providing strength to those organizations and working with them on prioriti= es — their priorities for bringing about meaningful change in a cultural= ly relevant and meaningful way.
I̵= 7;m very proud to be able to work alongside those organizations and I am very appreciative again of the work of the Women’s Directorate that contin= ues to grow — it continues to work in many different ways. The member opp= osite has referred to other ways that we could be working and we are, but we̵= 7;re trying to be very focused in terms of doing a good job and in terms of identifying a path forward, not just in the Department of Health, but the Department of Education, the Department of Justice — reaching out to = all of our various departments and being able to track and assess how we’= re doing and being able to provide various tools necessary for those departmen= ts to do their work as well.
ItR= 17;s a work in progress, Madam Chair, and I would like to again thank the member opposite for her questions. Certainly I will be able to pass along those specific questions as well with respect to sexual health curriculum, whether it’s within the Department of Health and Social Services or the Department of Education. But yes, the Women’s Directorate does contri= bute to those discussions and yes, we will continue to contribute to those discussions.
Chair: Would= members like to take a brief recess?
All Hon. Members: Agreed.
Chair: Commi= ttee of the Whole will recess for 15 minutes.
Recess
Chair: Order. Committee of the Whole will now come to order. We are resuming general deba= te on Vote 11, Women’s Directorate.
Ms. White: The conversations from my side today have predominately been about women’s abilities to make choices about their bodies, to be perfectly honest. I thi= nk it’s an important thing to point out right now that this government d= oes not have a sexual and reproductive health strategy. That has really resound= ing effects on women in the territory. The question is always: How does the government know whether or not the services and quality of care are improvi= ng? How do they know if there are improvements or deterioration in access or the quality of care and where are those changes stemming from and all of those issues? Without having a strategic plan with clear health targets and measu= res, we can’t answer a lot of those questions about women and women’s health. Will the Women’s Directorate advocate for the development of a sexual and reproductive health care strategy? Will they use their ability to sit at the table with government and the Minister of Health and Social Serv= ices and say that this is an important thing for Yukon women — keeping in = mind of course, that there are 18,222 of them in the territory — and that a strategy for sexual and reproductive health is a big deal?
The mi= nister has referenced a bunch of times in speaking this afternoon about the importance= of roundtable discussions. Would the minister consider having a roundtable for women on reproductive choice, on the access to contraception, on women̵= 7;s sexual health? Is that a roundtable that she would be interested in hosting= as the minister responsible for the Women’s Directorate, maybe in partnership with her colleague, the Minister of Health and Social Services? This is a big issue. Just to recap: Would the Women’s Directorate advocate for a sexual and reproductive health care strategy? Would they be willing to host a roundtable on the issues that affect women’s health= ?
Hon. Ms. Taylor:= I guess one thing I am not going to do is proceed with = making decisions on the fly on the floor of the Legislative Assembly.
Usuall= y when we come up with strategies we hone in on a specific area that is identified as= an issue of importance within the community. To be perfectly honest, I haven’t been engaged on this matter other than this discussion that we’re having on the floor of the Legislative Assembly. I say that out= of complete respect, but I have not been approached by members of the communit= y, the organizations — that is not to say we won’t. Before we emba= rk upon strategic planning on any specific issue, not just with respect to hea= lth or education or economic development and so forth, it would be identified a= s an issue of importance within our community and within the government and comi= ng up with a clear, methodical process for looking at an issue and coming up w= ith a strategy.
At this particular time, I’m not going to commit on the floor on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Services. I did make reference to a couple = of examples as to how the Women’s Directorate has helped inform discussi= ons on those two particular women’s clinics that have come about. I am ve= ry proud of that work. Likewise, we are contributing to discussions on the midwifery file. We are contributing to discussions with the Department of Justice on violence prevention and fully implementing all of those recommendations that came about from the Sharing Common Ground report. We are working to implement the one specific recommendation that is reflected in the budget that we are talking to ̵= 2; the women’s legal advocate.
On the= Regional Roundtable on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, we are worki= ng with Yukon aboriginal women’s organizations on hosting a Yukon family gathering that will ensure those voices are reflected at the regional roundtable. Those two are priorities that have been made known and clear by= our community — and by the nation at that — and we’ll continu= e to work with those various departments and governments. It certainly is not ju= st within the Government of Yukon. There are other governments, orders and lev= els of government and agencies involved — and communities.
I go b= ack to the GIDA evaluation and how this work is going to help inform how we can better influence decisions and how we can better effect and inform debate and discussion within all of our respective departments and how we were able to take that evaluation, how we were able to glean from that some gaps and some proposed areas for improvements, but we’re looking for a meaningful w= ay of engaging with our departments that will help us be more strategic, help = us be more responsive to not only working with our departments, but also worki= ng in response to those identified issues of concern and importance to those we represent.
As I m= entioned, we were looking to discuss those levers — those opportunities for all= of us as ministers — as it relates to gender decision-making, and that i= s in fact why we have embarked on this process, this evaluation of GIDA, to real= ly create an opportunity to provide quality advice and be able to leverage our reach within those departments so that it is very much a two-way street in terms of us not only reaching out to departments, but departments also reac= hing out to the Women’s Directorate as well, and being able to track that engagement both ways and being able to report progress.
Again,= Madam Chair, I’m very proud of the work that is going on, whether it is violence prevention, whether it is working with Education or Health and Soc= ial Services — there are many different areas, many different committees = that we share information with and collaborate with departments on, again being = very strategic and focusing on those issues that are of significant importance to us.
I just= outlined a number of those and that’s not to say that the priority is not goin= g to change or isn’t going to shift or we aren’t going to respond; of course, they will. We have seen that over the years, but it’s this government — we have been able to enhance resources available to the Women’s Directorate. We’ve been able to help initiate initiativ= es such as the GIDA evaluation, the implementation plan, the gender-equality indicators initiative that is currently underway — very comprehensive research, very information-rich initiative that is currently underway. That will help better inform where those gaps are identified — what we’re doing well and what we aren’t doing well — within o= ur territory and within the context of the nation. From there, that will also = help influence our implementation plan on the GIDA evaluation, which will also h= elp feed and build on what it is that we are working to accomplish in that part= icular regard.
I alwa= ys refer to the evaluation that we have been working on because that is going to pro= vide a fairly concrete framework for us to work from, keeping in mind that we wi= ll continue to be responsive to the community. There is a process for identify= ing strategies and for identifying an area and coming up with a strategy — coming up with an implementation plan. We have undertaken many, many reviews over the years, but as I mentioned, we are currently engaged in some significant reviews — internally on the violence prevention initiative within the Government of Yukon; interdepartmentally supporting our employee= s; being a better employer of choice; and being more responsive in terms of engaging with employees who are also victims of violence.
We are= also working on, as I mentioned, the gender-inclusive diversity analysis and the evaluation, working with other partners from across the country in developi= ng that implementation plan and looking to how we can integrate and promote gender-based analysis within the delivery of our policies and our programs — also how we can improve the quality of implementation of that analy= sis, and how we can also be better partners with our departments.
We hav= e been an independent department since 1985. We have grown significantly over the pas= t 13 years. We have been able to enhance the funding for organizations. We have = been able to initiate a number of various housing projects — the second-st= age housing initiative, Betty’s Haven, in conjunction with Kaushee’s Place, the Yukon Women’s Transition Home Society and the family-focus= ed housing initiative in Riverdale.
We hav= e been able to provide that partnership now with the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition = on providing programming in collaboration with their many partners that they a= re currently working with to enhance the delivery of programming leading to independent living and safe environments for families for raising kids. I am very proud of that initiative as well.
We hav= e been able to undertake various marketing campaigns on violence prevention over t= he years, but policy analysis is one of the most influential ways that we have= to promote women’s equality. That is in fact why we are promoting this G= IDA and implementation and how we have been promoting GIDA over the past number years — 16 years to be exact — and how there is more work to be done and how can we better improve. That’s how we can better identify ways to integrate that GIDA throughout all of government — identifying those levers and those opportunities through our formal policy-making decis= ion process, coming up with more professional development opportunities through GIDA training and looking at various tiers of training as to what we heard = from employees who have subscribed to that training over the years and looking at the quality of advice — the evidence-based research, the analysis. As= I mentioned, we are involved with many different cross-departmental committee= s at various levels and will continue to be very engaged on many different front= s.
Gettin= g back to the member opposite’s question — I know that the member opposite wi= ll raise that question with the Minister of Health and Social Services. I can’t speak for the Minister of Health and Social Services at this particular time, but we are not going to be making those decisions on the f= loor of the Assembly to begin with. That is not to say that will not emerge as an issue of fundamental importance. It just has not been brought to my attenti= on or to our government’s attention — at least to my attention with respect to that particular area of sexual health.
In ter= ms of hosting a roundtable or coming up with a particular strategy, I am not fully informed, so I don’t want to speak out of turn as to what we have or = have not done fully on that front — without having consulted with the Mini= ster of Health and Social Services.
Ms. White: I am surprised that the minister found the questions ab= out a sexual reproductive strategy unexpected because we have been speaking to the Minister of Health and Social Services about it for some time. I would have thought that the communication among ministers might have allowed her to be aware of that.
I think it’s really an important thing that we are doing here in debate on the Women’s Directorate.
We hav= e been going for quite some time, and I do thank the minister for her responses bu= t, in the interest of time and the importance that we both place on gender equ= ity and women’s rights for all Yukoners, I’m going to roll a bunch = of questions into a section in hopes of using the remaining time in Committee = of the Whole to ask questions that are important to all of us and all the peop= le we work with in hopes of maybe getting more direct answers in response.
I̵= 7;m going to start off by talking about Yukon women in business. So, 40 percent of Yu= kon businesses are owned by women according to the government’s 2013 Yukon business survey, yet a quick scan of the recent Opportunities North speakers list shows that 24 of listed speakers were men and just nine were women. That’s just over one third. Similarly, a quick review of the speakers, moderators and panelists listed in the daily agenda shows roughly 30 men and just 12 women — again, just about one third.
Opport= unities North was co-sponsored by the Yukon government Department of Economic Devel= opment, so the Yukon government did play a role in sponsoring that event. = p>
I̵= 7;m sure there’s not a single person in this room today who questions the importance of female representation as speakers, as panelists and in conferences, and I’m also sure that the organizers — the Yukon Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Northwest Territories and the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce — made efforts to ensure that women were able to participate in the conference both as speakers and as attendees, but the real question is whether or not this government is doing enough to supp= ort the participation of Yukon women in positions of economic leadership in industry and business and in leadership positions on boards.
For ex= ample, in Ontario there are the Ontario business loans. It is mi= crolending for women entrepreneurs. In January 2013, the Ontario government released $760,000 for a two-year program to assist more than 800 low-income women be= come entrepreneurs. The initiative includes financial training and microloans of $500 to $5,000, and this funding has been given to a number of community organizations across Ontario to support microlending= span> programs and business advisory programs to low-income women looking to start their own small businesses.
Anothe= r example is the provincial Small Business Networks for Women Entrepreneurs. In a num= ber of Canadian provinces, including Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, they all have women entrepreneur or women enterprise centres. These organizations provide women starting or growing their small businesses with business services and resources to ensure they are successful. Their teams = are trained to understand and relate to the unique circumstances of women busin= ess owners and typically include mentoring from other women entrepreneurs.
Then t= here is the Government of Canada’s Advisory Council for Promoting Women on Boards. In a 2014 report, entitled = Good for Business: A Plan to Promote the Participation of More Women on Canadian Boards, it highlights how the public and private sectors can increase t= he representation of women on boards and includes some of the current best practices in use within corporate Canada to successfully advance women into leadership positions on boards of directors.
They m= ade recommendations influenced by best practices from across Canada and internationally, and they include but are not limited to: the aspiration of= 30 percent over five years as a reasonable national goal to achieve gender bal= ance with a long-term goal being gender balance on boards; they want to monitor = and report on gender diversity in Governor in Council appointments — so t= his is something that we take into account here when we’re appointing peo= ple to boards; we do look at the gender inclusiveness — and to promote networking and mentoring between public and private sector corporations; institute a comply-or-explain approach for moving publicly traded companies toward an identified goal within published annual reports, wit= h an explanation of results or lack thereof; to promote increased representation= of women on boards by mobilizing and working with key stakeholders; develop a coordinated pan-Canadian approach by working with provincial and territorial governments; support the adoption of short- and medium-term goals in the private and public sectors, recognizing that some sectors are further ahead than others.
The
research is very clear, Madam Chair. Increasing the representation of women=
on
boards is good for business and associated with higher profitability. Studi=
es
in Canada, the US, Australia and Europe demonstrate that businesses with mo=
re
women on their boards and in senior management outperform those with fewer
women, and I think this would apply within government boards and committees=
as
well.
A
further 2011 survey by Canada’s Institute of Corporate Directors
concluded that board gender diversity contributes to better governance and
decision-making. This is especially true in times of economic stress. Board
diversity, including gender, enhances the competitive advantage of firms and
committees by expanding their labour pools, increasing the availability of
diverse knowledge, skills and experience. As labour shortages increase, Can=
ada,
Yukon — we all have to maximize our labour pool and compete
internationally and nationally for top business talent. It is also making s=
ure
that we have good representation on our own boards and committees.
As
we all know, the Yukon is facing hard economic times. Does this government =
keep
statistics of the representation of women in public and private sector seni=
or
leadership roles, on public and private boards, as a percentage of OIC
appointments? If not, will they commit to do so or — I know the minis=
ter
doesn’t like to commit to things on the floor — to at least look
into doing those investigations in the name of gender equity, social justice
and economic sustainability and the profitability of Yukon businesses and
industry?
I am going to just look at the time and if I get a 20-minute response, I will= be able to wrap everything up in my last question, so I will leave the minister with that in hopes that we can just reflect on those quick questions and I = will move on to what comes next.
Hon. Ms. Taylor: Madam Chair, I just wanted to add a few things in response to = the member opposite’s questions.
When i= t comes to women and boards — of course, the member opposite touched upon a coup= le of different items — one public and one private — there has bee= n a significant amount of work that has been taking place at the federal/provincial/territorial level by ministers responsible for the statu= s of women in Canada. I know that we have been engaged in these discussions over= the years. It’s always highlighted as a topic for discussion at each and every FPT meeting, which is held annually around the country.
There = has been a tremendous amount of progress made on that front. I know that our own direc= tor for the Women’s Directorate was just recently — actually, within the last couple of years — able to co-chair a national knowledge exch= ange initiative on this very issue, speaking to gender parity or at least speaki= ng to the private boards that we have out there. In fact, the work of those forums, as well as research that has been undertaken by many of the larger provinces — in particular, Ontario, and the member opposite just refe= rred to that — did actually help inform a change in regulations in Ontario, which led to the bigger corporations having to comply or explain, in other words. As a result, that change in regulations has pretty much been adopted= in every jurisdiction around the country, including Yukon through the Departme= nt of Community Services. I know the Minister of Community Services can speak = to that at a much broader scale than I can at this particular moment. <= /p>
I do k= now that, on that scale, there has been a lot of progress made. It is an example of t= he work that has been done by the ministers responsible for the status of wome= n in helping influence those changes within a province — one province, and= of course, clearly reaching out to all of the other provinces and territories = in the country.
In ter= ms of here at home, I mentioned the change in the regulation, of course, that also took place within the past year here in the Yukon and refers to those private boards. In terms of the public scale — the boards and committees, at least within the Yukon government — I know that we’re pretty mu= ch on par with respect to gender parity on those boards and committees. I do k= now that in terms of tracking — again, it comes down to the gender-equali= ty indicators initiative that we have been working on over the past year, goin= g on two years.
I have= always said that we are committed to the promotion of gender equality, making us a very attractive place to raise a family, to live, to invest and to travel t= o. Promoting gender equality here makes us all the more attractive in the territory and to others abroad and beyond. The indicators on the Yukon gender-equality initiative website that we have, and will continue to work = on, are opportunities to share data and stories from a wide range of areas, suc= h as leadership. We just spoke about boards and committees, public and private, = the issues of violence and crime, childcare, parenting, sports and physical activities. There are a lot of different areas that this website will be ab= le to report on progress in attaining gender equality by being able to not only s= hare data that is currently available, and has been available through different sources — governments and agencies across the country and here in the territory — but also by being able to share some sound stories from w= omen here in the Yukon, as well as from men, and setting out a timeline of achievements dating back to 1999.
The da= ta will help us showcase where progress has been made. I know that this is one of t= hose particular areas that is being highlighted in te= rms of progress being made on boards and committees with respect to private and pu= blic as well. It will identify challenges that remain — the gaps, as I referred to over the afternoon — but also supporting those ongoing ef= forts to improve gender equality in Yukon. By being able to move that statistical profile on how we are doing as a territory in the context of the confederat= ion and beyond to a web-based profile, this will enable us to update and to exp= and those statistics as time evolves and new information becomes available. It = is something that we are tracking in terms of looking at senior management wit= hin the Government of Yukon and measuring the degree of success of women in var= ious positions within the corporation at large.
We wil= l continue to provide research and resources to help provide decision-making on issues related to equality for Yukon women. As I mentioned, there is a lot of work= to be done. There is always going to be more work to be done to achieve gender equality. These challenges are not unique to the Yukon. They are felt on the national level in every province and territory. But by being able to take t= he initiative to actually come up with tracking — a retrospective evalua= tion of how we are doing — shows leadership. It does show that we are obviously very keen and interested in wanting to make some changes. =
We are= going to continue to work with our partners, including our organizations, again, to better understand those emerging issues of importance to our territory. This statistical profile of women’s equality will help shed some further l= ight on the areas where we do need to do a better job and how best to get there.=
On tha= t front — particularly when it comes to board and committee representation and gender parity — there has been significant progress made on the natio= nal front, as well as within each of our provinces and territories. It’s something that we continue to track and make adjustments. Obviously, by bei= ng able to articulate and monitor the progress being made or lack of progress, we’ll be able to better fine tune where we go from here.
Ms. White: Just looking at the time, I’m now going to lump everything into the same statement just in the hope of getting them on the record. I’m going t= o talk about pay equity, access to childcare, the website and a couple of other things.
We kno= w that income equality is an important indicator of equity and fairness in a socie= ty. When a society allows women to experience economic inequality, it places wo= men at risk of being left behind on housing, mental and physical health, issues of childcare, education, social supports, food security, safety and employment. Coming into equal pay would improve the safety, security and socio-political autonomy and well-being of women in the Yukon, but it would also have a positive impact on our economy.
I aske= d a question earlier this spring and it showed that women working in the tourism industry earned 85 cents less an hour than men in similar fields. In short,= no matter how you cut it, ensuring equal pay is not only the right thing to do= but it’s the best thing to do for our society and for our economy. The Yu= kon Bureau of Statistics tourism employment 2012 report shows that in the touri= sm sector the average hourly compensation for female workers — I’m going to correct myself: it wasn’t 85 cents; it was $5 an hour less t= han their male counterparts in that same year. So that’s substantially hi= gher than I said. I’m going to correct myself right there. This is the only information that I’ve come across that actually reports on the pay difference between men and women workers in the Yukon. I think we should lo= ok at expanding that scope. It is known that low pay, lower income, and insecu= re employment drag down women’s economic security and place them at grea= ter risk of poverty and violence.
In the= spring, we were told by the minister that the Women’s Directorate gender-equa= lity indicators project website was due in October of 2015. As it stands right n= ow, the only reference I found online was the women’s advisory council and then, of course, in debates that we had. Will this project plan to publicly report on income equality, pay grade, employment type and status in jobs, security for all territorial sectors — public and private — as = part of this project? When will we see it completed?
Equal = pay and gender-based economic equality for women in the Yukon are not listed as a strategic goal in the Department of Economic Development’s strategic plan. Since they are neither listed nor tracked there, how does this govern= ment or the Women’s Directorate track Yukon’s progress on pay equity= ? Is that something that should move up on the priority list of the Women’s Directorate?
In chi= ldcare, we know that high quality, affordable childcare is also an early childhood sup= port that helps families, boosts the economy and plays a pivotal role in increas= ing women’s economic and labour force choices, reducing income and gender inequalities for future generations. But as Canadian families pay some of t= he highest daycare fees in the world, not all Yukon families can afford it. Raising healthy and happy children is the most effective and least expensive way to promote a healthy society, but as the chief medical officer of Yukon says, “Not all Yukon children and youth are doing well.” A key = step to supporting healthy and happy children is to ensure that affordable, high quality early childhood supports are available and accessible to all Yukone= rs.
If we = look to our neighbours to the east, in June of 2014, the Government of Northwest Territories tabled its feasibility study of universal, affordable daycare in the NWT. This study was commissioned by the Government of Northwest Territo= ries and authored by two University of Toronto professors. They looked at what w= ould be needed for NWT to implement a childcare policy similar to Quebec’s, where parents pay an average of $7 per child per day for childcare and wher= e 85 percent of childcare costs are covered by the government. The study conclud= es that it would cost $21 million a year to create universal, affordable child= care in the Northwest Territories and would be a major bump to the economy. Pare= nts in Northwest Territories currently pay between $45 and $62 per child per da= y. Many people interviewed during the study said that they spend half of their monthly income on childcare. Imagine that — half of your monthly inco= me to care for your children.
The re= port was also critical of the lack of subsidies given out by the government, which m= ake up only one percent of childcare spending in that territory. The authors al= so said that there aren’t enough licensed childcare centres in the North= west Territories to meet demand, that parents faced long wait-lists and that abo= ut 250 additional childcare workers would need to be hired to staff these cent= res, some of which could share extra space in community schools. Now imagine the economic boost to that economy with those 250 new jobs. If universal childc= are is created, the authors estimated that employment rates for Northwest Terri= tories mothers would rise between one and seven percent — or from 76 to 727 = more mothers in the workforce. Between an extra $214,000 to over $2 million in income tax revenue would be raised per year with potentially less demand on family income assistance.
Obviou= sly, the Yukon is distinct from the Northwest Territories with our own unique challe= nges and opportunities. That said, I am curious to kn= ow whether the Women’s Directorate has reviewed the Northwest Territories’ report. Is it aware of any similar analysis being undert= aken in the Yukon and if it tracks similar numbers — for example: What per= cent of Yukon GDP are we spending on childcare? What percentage of Yukon childca= re costs are currently borne by government? What is the average a Yukon parent= pays per child per day for childcare? How much is the government spending on ave= rage per child for daycare? I think it would be important to note that too. When= we are looking at those numbers, how many mothers have to make the decision to stay home because they can’t afford to go back to the workforce becau= se they can’t afford childcare?
I thin= k we all know people — when the minister was going door to door this summer, s= he spoke to my little sister, who mentioned the affordability of childcare as being a major hindrance on her family. She wanted to go back to work and mo= re than 50 percent of her wages pays for her two young sons to attend full-time childcare. She is lucky because the third one is now in school full-time. I think that this is a conversation that, as a territory, the Women’s Directorate could spearhead. This is something that really affects women’s ability to participate in the labour force.
In one= of the minister’s earlier responses, she talked about the really important position of the aboriginal women’s policy and program manager. We know that Amanda has moved out of the territory and we’re excited for what she’s going to do in her new home, but that leaves a gap in the Women’s Directorate lineup currently. Does the department plan to hir= e another aboriginal women’s policy and program manager? I saw a head nod and I’m sure the minister wants to fill that position.
I̵= 7;m going to end my notes today, Madam Chair, with some really, really incredible thi= ngs that have just happened in Alberta. It is interesting to note that the Prem= ier has been having a time citing all the things he thinks are going to go wrong with the Alberta economy and the province since the newly elected NDP government was formed. I think there are a lot of things we can look at the= re for positives. I will find it and I will cite this one as an example.
A real= ly amazing thing happened in the Alberta Legislature this week — well not even t= his week — yesterday. They unanimously passed a motion put forward by the Independent MLA Deborah Drever, and she propose= d a private member Bill 204, which would amend the Residential Tenancies Act to allow victims of domestic or intimate partner violence to terminate their leases early without financial penalty by presenting their landlords with a certificate confirming the dan= ger that they were facing. The certificate would be issued if victims have an emergency protection order or restraining order issued by the court, or if = they have a signed statement from a social worker, a nurse, a physician, a psych= ologist or a police officer saying that they were facing violence.
This v= ery basic legislative change will remove one of the many barriers women face when fle= eing violence. Here in the Yukon, we know that housing is one of the major barri= ers victims of intimate partner violence face when seeking safe options to leav= e a violent partner and home. I think it’s important to say that we’= ;ve done a lot of work with both the ability of women to go to Kaushee’s Place, and of course, now Betty’s Haven is the transitional housing. Those are important things, but I think this is one further step.
Many o= f these victims are women and many have children in tow. Removing what amounts to a financial penalty for fleeing violence and seeking safety is a reasonable, = essential legislative change that governments can make to help women and children be safer. Has the Women’s Directorate reviewed the proposed Bill 204 to = see if similar changes are appropriate and can be made to the Yukon and, if they haven’t looked at it yet, will they commit to looking at it to see if= it would fit for us here?
How of= ten does the Women’s Directorate scan other jurisdictions or speak with local experts to identify similarly simple, very basic legislative changes that c= an be made to support Yukon women? How does this government track the legislat= ive process from problem identification to policy solution identification to implementation to reviewing and tracking changes and what role does the Women’s Directorate play in making sure that issues that affect women= are highlighted and brought forward?
I than= k the minister for the afternoon and her official because it has definitely been educational. I think this might be the most time we have ever talked about = this department. I thank the minister for her patience and her stamina, and I lo= ok forward to the responses.
Hon. Ms. Taylor: I would like to thank the member opposite for her questions as= well.
Each o= f these areas is of fundamental importance to women, men and families. As I mention= ed, it makes us competitive because it is one thing to find a job — our government has worked hard as well to have the financial capacity to be abl= e to deliver on programs and services that are conducive to the growth of the private sector, but also in terms of continuing to invest in that strategic infrastructure that is so vital to all of our industries in the territory. =
When i= t comes to pay equity, this is one of the many areas that our gender-equality indicato= rs website will be referring to. I can say that, at first glance, Yukon is actually doing quite well in comparison to every other province and territo= ry in the country. I know that there is still a gap. However, when you compare that to other provinces and territories, we have been able to narrow that g= ap faster than any other jurisdiction — or overall in the country, as I underst= and.
A work= in progress — and I know that the member opposite referred to, I think, a tourism business survey. I think there will be another one coming out later this year, if I’m not mistaken. I think the one the member opposite w= as referring to is from 2013. The information that we’re gleaning from is from Statistics Canada, and that will be reflected on the website as one of many different areas. But in terms of providing program= services, training, education — the supports that we do have and that do ensure that our territory is an attractive place to do business and to live — and, of course, working on making it an affordable place as well. Childcare feeds into that argument as well, and it has come up over the yea= rs. It’s an issue that our government continues to put great importance o= n.
Over t= he years we have been able to increase the level of dollars in support of childcare = in terms of supporting direct operating grants for each of our family day homes and childcare centres and for other operators. We have been able to increase dollars in support of wages of childcare workers, targeted specifically to = the level of training and education initiatives that those childcare workers ha= ve been able to obtain, whether that’s through the Yukon College or anot= her institution.
We hav= e been able to increase dollars in terms of the childcare subsidies. In fact, I th= ink there was a recent news release that the Department of Health and Social Se= rvices issued, expanding those childcare subsidies even more — so widening t= he number of individuals who can actually be eligible to receive a childcare subsidy. It is an area that we continue to put great importance on. =
Childc= are centres — I know that, over the years, there have been efforts to wor= k in collaboration with Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, for example, on partnering on the creatio= n of their childcare centre.
There = have been other examples. The Learning Together program through the Department of Education is another unique program of being able to reach out to those families before they reach kindergarten to get into the schools to become m= ore familiar.
One ex= ception, however, that has worked out really very well is our partnership with Kwanl= in Dün — the early childhood centre — and we’ve been ab= le to merge the two programs, Learning Together with their program delivered o= ut of their centre at Kwanlin Dün, and it has worked really well — = in turn, by doing that we were able to access and leverage the resources and t= he expertise of the Child Development Centre and other resources made available through different organizations that we partner with as a government.
There = have been strides made. There is obviously more that we can always do. I know that the Department of Health and Social Services continues to look to ways, creative ways, as to how we can expand that. I know that even the Department of Education is looking at more — and through the Department of Community Services — after-school programs made available targeting that active living time between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. when kids are most susceptible.= I know that the Department of Education has been able to partner with the Boys and Girls Club in years past, but they are also looking at doing a pilot project in one of our schools, as we speak, to provide that after-school programming at the school where there is space available and the resources available to the school.
It is = an area that we recognize. There are more families — two-income families, obviously single-parent families as well — working, and so that means that we need to expand the number of childcare options. That is what we have been working to do over the years.
Like I=
said, the
direct operating grant was increased, I think, by about 40 percent over the
years. It may have even gone beyond that in the recent couple of years.
I know= that the member opposite made reference to Bill 204 that is currently before the Alb= erta Legislative Assembly. I actually just saw that on the Twitter feed not long ago, and I know that it is making its way through the Legislature. I don’t think it has actually gone through, but I think it’s maki= ng its way through the proceedings as we speak. It is an innovative way of loo= king at another approach in terms of being able to respond to victims of domestic violence and being able to have that security.
As to = whether or not the Women’s Directorate monitors on an ongoing basis other jurisdictions — again, we would work with the departments of Communit= y Services, Health and Social Services, Education, Justice or Economic Development.
I go b= ack to the GIDA and the evaluation and finding those trigger points that make it incum= bent upon those respective departments to be able to reach out to the Women̵= 7;s Directorate and to be able to trigger those different processes — whe= ther that is when a piece of legislation is being proposed in its infancy as a c= oncept at that particular time — is that the area that we trigger gender-inc= lusive diversity analysis at that time, or do we wait until it makes its way throu= gh consultation? There are different trigger points along any spectrum of poli= cies or development of legislation.
That i= s what this evaluation has really shown us — that there are gaps. How can we really trigger those areas in the departments to be able to be more proacti= ve and to be able to engage? We as elected members around the Cabinet table — the Management Board — finding those triggers within different processes. We are looking at all touch points at this particular time as we come up with an implementation plan.
I know= the member opposite referred to Alberta. We are looking at the Government of Alberta. We are looking at setting up a meeting at this particular time to = sit down with the Status of Women office in Alberta so that we can share challe= nges and opportunities and work that we can also provide.
I also= believe that the Women’s Directorate in the Yukon government has a lot to off= er in terms of showcasing all of these years of success stories. I know that t= he Government of Alberta is just starting to develop their office, so we have a lot of offer to terms best practices, but also sharing in some of the challenges and getting at some of these initiatives that we have triggered = to identify those challenges — more importantly, to identify a way forwa= rd to lessening or narrowing those gaps as efficiently and expeditiously as possible.
We are= very pleased with the number of different progress points that we are making and= of course we will continue to work with our departments. Those departments will also continue to work with their stakeholders — whether it’s the Yukon Childcare Association, individual operators, other orders and levels = of government, First Nation governments — and working to really integrate our resources the best way possible for the benefit of all families and for= the benefit of our territory.
Ms. White: I thank the minister for her thoughts. I am just looking for a commitment to = get the answer to the questions that I asked that weren’t answered on the floor in writing and I hope that maybe there will be more funding for the Women’s Directorate in the new year.
Madam = Chair, seeing the time, I move that you report progress.
Chair: It ha= s been moved by Ms. White that the Chair report progress.
Motion agreed to
Mr. Elias: Madam Chair, I move that the Speaker do now resume the Chair.
Chair: It ha= s been moved by Mr. Elias that the Speaker do now resume the Chair. = p>
Motion agreed to
Speaker resumes the Chair
Speaker: I w= ill now call the House to order.
May th= e 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. 20, entitled Second Appropriation Act, 2015-16,= and directed me to report progress.
Speaker: You= have heard the report from the Chair of Committee of the Whole. Are you agreed?<= /span>
Some Hon. Members: Agreed.
Speaker: I d= eclare the report carried.
Mr. Elias: I move that the House do now adjourn.
Speaker: It = has been moved by the Government House Leader that the House do now adjourn. =
Motion agreed to
Speaker: Thi= s House now stands adjourned until 1:00 p.m. tomorrow.
The House adjourned at 5:20 p.m.
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