Yellowknife (February 13, 2014) – Premier Bob McLeod added his signature to those of Acho Dene Koe First Nation Chief Harry Deneron and Fort Liard Métis Local President Ernie McLeod to the Acho Dene Koe First Nation and Fort Liard Métis Agreement in Principle. The Agreement in Principle has now been forwarded to the Federal Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, the Honourable Bernard Valcourt, for his approval.
Mr. Speaker, during December's power outage in the City of Yellowknife it became apparent that communications from the Northwest Territories Power Corporation did not meet its customers’ expectations or its own standards. It is our goal to keep power outages to a minimum. The Corporation has taken steps necessary to improve communication during both planned and unplanned power outages in the territory, and will continue to do so.
Mr. Speaker, the new Highway 4 realignment opened to traffic on January 31st. Residents now bypass the remediation work underway at the former Giant Mine site and travel on a safer highway with better turns and sight lines. It is an important infrastructure investment toward ensuring responsible stewardship and providing jobs and business opportunities to dozens of Northerners.
Mr. Speaker, thousands of our residents and visitors enjoy the parks and campgrounds across the territory. In particular, the beaches located within the territorial parks contribute enormously to the quality of life for many families on hot summer days.
The 2014 parks season formally opens on May 15 and the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is making important changes to beaches in Fred Henne Territorial Park and Hay River Territorial Park that I want to share with you. These changes will help to ensure everyone enjoys the beaches in a fun, safe way.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Finance highlighted the work being done on the Service Innovation Strategy. Our government is committed to providing better services to the public by taking advantage of technology.
Today, I want to highlight a new way the Department of Justice will be a streamlining service for business and the general public with the new Corporate Registries Online System. We are connecting people with the information they need and making our government more effective and efficient.
Mr. Speaker, this continues to be a very exciting time for education in not only the North but the entire country. Through our Education Renewal and Innovation work, we are recognizing how people learn, what supports are needed to help them learn, and how we can improve education for all students.
Mr. Speaker, a key priority of this government is to make sure that NWT residents have access to the right tools and supports that they can choose from to help overcome addiction issues and poor mental health. As a government, we are committed to ensuring that our residents have as many options as possible to help them move forward on their path towards wellness.
Mr. Speaker, last week I delivered the 2014-15 budget on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories. That budget was based on a fiscal strategy of living within our means while still identifying funds to better support the people of the Northwest Territories and make strategic investments in our economy. Part of our plan included investing in the future of the territory by allocating five percent of resource revenues coming through devolution to the Heritage Fund.
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Transportation is now providing residents with the option to access driver and motor vehicle services from the comfort of their homes, workplaces or from anywhere else with an internet connection. Online driver and motor vehicle services are part of the government’s Service Innovation Strategy. Effective and efficient government is achieved by reducing red tape and connecting NWT residents and businesses with the information and services they need.
Mr. Speaker, many of our residents want to access more government services “on line”, rather than standing “in line”.
We are looking at ways to improve service delivery. In 2013 we approved the Service Innovation Strategy, a government-wide strategy to improve the delivery of programs and services by leveraging technology and by taking a more coordinated approach to service delivery.
