Evidence of meeting #13 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was yukon.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bruce Stanton
Oh, sorry, but we're out of time. We could have a very brief response from the other territories, but we're trying to keep our rounds to five minutes. If you can give a brief 30-second response, then we'll go to Mr. Lemay.
Deputy Minister, Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment , Government of the Northwest Territories
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
In terms of supporting the oil and gas development in the Northwest Territories, number one, you could help us with a transportation system, the Mackenzie gas project being one of the primary ones. And improving the regulatory system is the other part of that.
In terms of the MGP itself, completing the federal proponent arrangements and maintaining a fulsome review of the project overall will lead, hopefully, to a certificate of public convenience so that this project proceeds.
Thank you.
Deputy Minister, Department of Economic Development and Transportation, Government of Nunavut
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
There are a lot of oil and gas opportunities in the High Arctic as well, and I think Nunavut and the Yukon are connected to that.
There hasn't been a lot of activity since the eighties on that one. There was a particular study that we did on the LNG opportunity. And this is going to be an issue of access, and things like that. We are trying to take a look at all the opportunities and are working with the federal government. INAC has called for nominations for the High Arctic for a number of years, and there hasn't been any on that one, but there are opportunities there as well.
On regulatory issues, it's the same thing for the north, as has been identified by industry in that area.
Your other question was about a country food base. It is still very much part of the traditional lifestyle of the north, and there will be a big impact if there are incidents, as you said, such as oil spills and things like that. It's integral. We've also identified it as an opportunity in terms of inter-settlement trade, rather than having the Inuit in Nunavut just rely on food from the south. We want to look at opportunities like that.
Conservative
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Thank you for being here. I was very interested by what I heard. I only have five minutes. I will try to be brief.
Mr. Vician, I have a question for you. Who monitors the operation of the diamond mines? If it is your government, what does the federal government do to help you? That is my first question. You can answer them all, one after the other.
Here is my opinion: the federal government should stop getting in the way of your development. I do not know if you want to tell me I am wrong there, but I feel that sometimes the federal government hinders more than it helps, going by what I heard in your presentations.
Ms. Keenainak, I have a question for you as well. I have been to Pangnirtung. I remember visiting the fish plant. I was told that a problem you face is that you have a fish plant, but you are short of workers. So you came up with a new way of operating, in that a large number of women work in the fish plant, but they have no one to look after their children. This was pointed out to us as a problem, and furthermore, one that required a change in thinking in Pangnirtung. Are there other changes in thinking in the works? Is this something of an evolution for you?
I would like to ask the Yukon representatives about their relations with Alaska. Do you get along with your big neighbour? Are there any problems? Do you have agreements with Alaska? Are Yukon and Alaska working on joint development projects?
There are my three questions; I will let you answer them. You have two minutes.
Deputy Minister, Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment , Government of the Northwest Territories
Thank you, Mr. Chair and Monsieur Lemay.
Who controls development of the mines? For all mines, it is the federal government. The legislation or authority for the development of resources in the Northwest Territories and the control of lands is federal. It has been at the heart of a long-standing challenge for the Northwest Territories to have devolution of those powers. Our government essentially acts as an intervenor. We do have some authorities in the areas of wildlife and forestry, as the ministry responsible, but it is the federal government that controls that development.
So in terms of how to help us, we believe the simple answer is the devolution and delegation of control to the people of the Northwest Territories, so that decisions can be made there and so the resources that are taken from the land can be reinvested into the land. That is the most critical issue.
To answer what's harmful, I guess time is the greatest harm right now. We need to have action and movement on this change.
Thank you.
Deputy Minister, Department of Economic Development and Transportation, Government of Nunavut
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I wasn't aware of that issue, but I do know that day care is an issue in the community. I know there are day care facilities.
However, in terms of the fish plant, one of the main issues is getting product into Pangnirtung. The building of the harbour is going to help as well, as will getting additional quota in areas adjacent to Nunavut, and making sure some of that product is going to the fish plant as well.
However, day care is an issue across the north, and that might have been an issue for that one.
Thank you.
Deputy Minister, Yukon Department of Economic Development, Government of Yukon
Thank you.
We have very good relations with Alaska. We have an MOU, a memorandum of understanding, established with them and have regular meetings. I would say that we have an extremely good relationship with the Port of Skagway. It's a 12-month, open-water, deepwater port. It is 180 kilometres from Whitehorse—it's very close. It advertises itself as Yukon Port of Skagway. We work on joint port development planning with them to establish long-term infrastructure investment in that port to ensure that our minerals have access to the world market.
Thank you.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bruce Stanton
Very good.
In fact, we even have a few seconds left, Mr. Lemay. It's wonderful.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bruce Stanton
We're pleased to welcome the member for the Western Arctic, who is here to join us this morning.
Mr. Bevington, you have five minutes.
Dennis Bevington NDP Western Arctic, NT
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It's my pleasure to be here with the three territories. This is something we need to see a little more in Parliament as we discuss the importance of these territories in Canada and also the relationship the federal government has with them. This is the area of Canada where the federal government still has so many of the responsibilities, and that's been outlined pretty well by the witnesses.
I'll start my questioning by asking each participant a question. I'm going to take a slightly different direction, because of course economic development is all about people, and developing the territories is ensuring that the territories can provide a living and a direction for the people who are there. In the Northwest Territories over the past number of years, although there has been a rapidly expanding economy, we've seen a decline in our population because of the cost of living. Part of what we need to accomplish in the north is to have sustainable lifestyles.
I'd like to hear what each of the territories feels is the direction the federal government should take in encouraging reductions in energy costs, establishing taxation systems that will encourage the population of the north, and promoting a stable workforce.
Deputy Minister, Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment , Government of the Northwest Territories
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Bevington.
In terms of encouraging sustainable lifestyles, I would agree that we've seen a modest decrease in population in recent times. We would attribute that to the variance in the resource economy; there has been some change and downturn in the resource side of the economy.
As far as the pillars of a northern workforce and a northern society are concerned, number one is quality of life. I think the territories, all three, provide some of the best quality of life in this country. Those of you who have spent time there know that.
The other piece is providing an economy that provides an opportunity to bring jobs to the communities, and that's happening. Our governments are working on issues with regard to energy conservation and energy costs. We recognize that cost of living is a primary issue. We have spoken before various committees of this Parliament about northern cost adjustments to our taxation model, and we've seen some recent movement by the federal government on those adjustments and under the Income Tax Act. We continue to encourage that type of help. But mostly it's to bring control and decision-making to northerners so that they can set out what it is they want to do for the future.
Thank you.
Deputy Minister, Department of Economic Development and Transportation, Government of Nunavut
Thank you.
I think Premier Aariak has indicated that self-reliance is a big issue for the third government and her cabinet, so that's one of the things we're trying to deal with.
I just read in the paper that there was a witness recently who noted that a jug of cranberry juice that would cost maybe $5 here costs about $65 in one of our most northern communities. The reality is that there is a high cost to living up in the north. But one of the arguments we've always used is that northern residents need to expect the same quality of life as southern Canadians, and it's not there right now.
I agree with Peter that there has been some movement. There need to be additional incentives in terms of taxation and cost of living, and there is a lot of work to be done.
Quality of life for the north has to be balanced, especially for Nunavummiut and Inuit, in terms of the lifestyle in the north as well.
Those are the kinds of things we're dealing with.
Thank you.
Deputy Minister, Yukon Department of Economic Development, Government of Yukon
To demonstrate the uniqueness of the north again, the Yukon is in a slightly different situation because of our all-road access into the Yukon. We have Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, and Superstore, and the prices are roughly similar to what you'd find in Edmonton. In some of our outlying communities, things would be a little bit different, but cost is an issue more around housing, I would say. Housing development has been increasingly a difficult situation in the Yukon and is being addressed.
As well, our population has been increasing. We have seen successive years of increased population, to a recent historical record in 2008.
I think the issues that are important to people are cost of living, but also connectedness, whether that's being two hours away from Vancouver on regular scheduled and affordable flights or being connected in an IT sense. We are among the most connected in Canada; 99% of our households have access to high-speed Internet. It's a question of making that system more dependable, and perhaps a little more bandwidth would help as well. It leads to a very sustainable and good lifestyle for people, and I think that's what's attracting them there. Obviously, the economic capacity to live and work is essential to that population growth.
Liberal
Conservative
Harold Albrecht Conservative Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks to each of the witnesses for being here today.
I did have the privilege of visiting Nunavut--Iqaluit and Pangnirtung--so I have the other two territories on my wish list. I also want to wish Nunavut all the best on its 10th anniversary.
One of the things that became very apparent to those of us who travelled to Nunavut was the dependency on fossil fuels and the high cost of those fuels, especially at the time we visited. Now, I understand fuel prices have dropped, but you don't have the luxury of buying them on a very short cycle. You have to buy them long-term or you end up with very high costs.
I'll start with Nunavut, but this question is for the other territories as well. What alternative energy sources have you investigated? Are there studies being done to possibly reduce your reliance on fossil fuels? It seems counterintuitive, since you have oil and gas right there. But we know that has to be refined somewhere and brought back, so I think it's important that we try to minimize reliance on those. Are there studies that have gone on? Are there pilot projects under way?
Perhaps you could answer some of those questions.
Deputy Minister, Department of Economic Development and Transportation, Government of Nunavut
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Yes, it is kind of ironic. Prices have been going down, but our cost of fuel is still high. The government did make a decision to reduce it by 10¢ just last week. We purchase this time of the year until October, and then the price is fixed.
They have been looking, for example, in Iqaluit at hydro projects around the city, because Iqaluit is a main user in the territories, being the biggest community there. They are also looking at wind energy. I know there's been some discussion about the use of tidal power. Also, they're starting to do residual heating projects in some of the communities. So we are looking at alternative energy. A long-term goal is to stop depending on fossil fuels.
We're also looking down the road in terms of oil and gas potential. The resource is there. It's something the government is looking at. There's an energy strategy that was recently released. So we're always looking at ways of trying to reduce costs. Trying to do major projects like hydro is not within the capacity of the territories, so there will have to be some partnership in that.
