Thank you, Mr. Chair. As you are well aware, accountability is a big factor amongst our constituents in the Northwest Territories.

There are a number of forms of accountability that we can look at to try to make representation more effective of those constituents. One is how you set up this government and its day-to-day operations. How do you involve the Ordinary Members in the process?

The development of legislation is another. For myself, I have no doubt that whistle blower legislation can work. We have asked for employees in the past to give ideas of expenditure areas where they can see some improvement, but there is always been a fear that if they make a comment, a supervisor will reprimand them and so on.

We should not have to operate in that kind of system. We should not have to operate with fear of our job if we are going speak the truth. I would see that if that was a necessity and felt a necessity of this Assembly, then we should get on with it and develop it and make our government more accountable, from the Ministers to Ordinary Members and our senior staff. If we are committed to do the work of the residents in a fair and equitable manner, then we are just playing games. I know for myself I did not come here to play games.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you Mr. Roland. The Chair will now recognize Mr. Kakfwi.

Mr. Chair, unfortunately in the world that I have grown up in, it is a reality that some people are, you might say, more focused and determined to have things their way than others. And it very often creates a situation where people are intimidated into doing and saying things they may not necessarily do in a normal course of action.

People have to be protected. At the same time, people have to be accountable. I had no difficulty with that in 1987 when I was first elected. I said I would be very willing to stand up in front of the entire Assembly and tell every Member who I was going to vote for and why. I would be accountable to the public that way. Nobody agreed with me, so we still vote by secret ballot. I raised that because that is one way to be accountable.

In regard to running government, I agree that patronage is something we all have to avoid. We were joking yesterday that for those people that continue to insist that Stephen Kakfwi has no friends, that is a good thing because I have nobody to patronize.

Thank you.

So who would I give contracts to?

-- Laughter

This is a danger and a reality that we have to avoid. I think the entire Caucus and the Cabinet need to discuss it. There are ways in which we can agree to avoid these difficulties. If there is patronage, then we must put a stop to it. If there is favouritism in contracts and in the hiring of people, we have to stop that. If people in our civil service are being intimidated or coerced to recall information or to conduct themselves in ways that they feel compromised, they should have an opportunity and a way to disclose that. I support the establishment of the conflict of interest inquiry. It was against the Premier. I was a Member of Cabinet. But it was a legitimate process set up for those Members of the Legislature who felt they were not being treated in a way that would provide with ensuring there was accountability on the part of Members of the Executive.

It is important to point that out, because in some ways I carried baggage for that as well. But I do not make an apology for it, for I think it was the right thing to do. It was due process and the results are evident. Maybe not to all of us, but to most of us. I agree that accountability is something that we need to do. I think every Member of the Legislature, the new Members, Members of Cabinet, former Members of Cabinet and former Members of the Legislature should be invited to discuss this. There is a way to provide for this government to be accountable to conduct itself in the best interest of the public. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Chair continues to recognize Mr. Krutko. Third question.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My next question has to do with the area of improving and bettering the lives of the people we serve. One of the areas I have a concern with is the quality of health care. A particular health concern is the quality of the water that is being provided in our communities. In the case of my communities, Fort McPherson and Aklavik, there is a major problem with various chemicals that are showing up in our water supplies.

In Fort McPherson, they were told just in the last couple of months that they were not allowed to drink their water, and also not to cook with it. They were told to use other alternative sources of water such as snow, ice or water from other creeks within the area. This matter was raised in the 13^th Assembly by myself, through motions through Committee of the Whole with the support of my colleagues, in the hopes that this issue would be dealt with.

I would like to know from the candidates, what do you establish as being a priority of government? Building infrastructure, building roads or improving the quality of health in our communities, which would include having safe drinking water for all the residents of the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. That was one question. The first response will come from Mr. Kakfwi.

Mr. Chair, with respect to one of my communities in the Sahtu, I have been raising the issue since I was first elected in 1987 that the infrastructure Tulita has will provide clean, consistent, good quality water to the community.

We have been working on it for 12 years. We have had engineers look at it and consultants study it. As Mr. Krutko knows, that does not always result in getting the job done.

I have no problem in making the commitment that we need to involve the MLA, the chief and some local contractors, and only one engineer. We will sit down and figure out how to get this job done. If it is left to normal government planning cycles we will still be talking about it 12 years from now. I think it is something we just need to sit down and fix.

We do that by making a commitment to find a solution and address it. That is how I would respond to that. We need to focus on it. It is one of the most basic things that people should be assured of and they are not. I know the situation in Fort McPherson needs a solution. We need to make a commitment to work on it.

In the area of health care, we know many of the costs we incur on an annual basis are because of problems we have with alcoholism, violence and abuse that goes on in our communities. Many of these things are self-inflicted. Many of these things happen because we do it to ourselves. Our people are suffering, they are traumatized and they are abused, and they need support. At the same time, we know we do not have to beat our wives. We do not have to neglect our children. There are many things we do to ourselves that I think we can set as targets and try to manage and diminish the cost of them.

We need to provide an economic strategy so there are jobs for our young people and there are jobs for the husbands and wives who want to work. Once the quality of life and the level of income go up, people will feel a sense of well being and they will turn to help themselves become stronger and more self- reliant.

That is the thing we all need to try and provide. With health care, we do not have the money to do an adequate job right now. Our resources are diminishing. We need to somehow try to help people become more self reliant and more responsible for their actions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. The Chair will now recognize Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In the area of improving the lives of our constituents, it is something we are going to have to continually wrestle with as Members of the 14^th Assembly, as we had to in the 13^th Assembly.

We need health care and health concerns to become priorities in our communities. For example, the situation Mr. Krutko raises concerning the quality of water. In this day and age in the Northwest Territories, we should not have to go to the river's edge to fetch a pail of water. This issue has been raised a number of times. Due to my previous experience and work as a public servant with Public Works, I know the issue has been raised.

Yes, one community had a lot of problems with its water intake in the Bear River. They have tried to fix it a number of times. Hopefully, this last time will mean it has been fixed. We cannot continually go back and repeat the same work that has been done before. The money that was spent to remedy it when it was not fixed the first time is used up and not able to be transferred to other communities that need it. We have to improve in a number of areas.

One area for improvement is we have to recognize that when health factors come up because of our delivery system, they have to be remedied. They have to become a priority. We cannot allow our communities that were developed under the watchful eye, as they say, of government departments to end up in trouble because their sources of water are not up to operating standard. There are a number of situations there. We have to definitely sit down and see if they become a health priority that has been impacted by our own systems that were set up and delivered by ourselves as government. We have to repair those systems. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The Chair will now recognize the Member for the Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. For some time now, the First Nation organization or First Nation governments have been publicly stating the Government of the Northwest Territories has no place at the negotiating table. My question is to both candidates, as to their views of how the Government of the Northwest Territories should be involved in the negotiating table between the First Nation governments and the federal government. Should it be as a full member, observer or not there at all, or do they have any other options they see working? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The first response to this question will go to Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That area is definitely a sensitive area. As I said earlier to one of the questions, I think we had nine different tables undergoing negotiations in the 13^th Assembly. There are continuing negotiations and we are going to be a part of them, and to what degree is important. The federal government, in a lot of cases, states that we have to be a part of the process. I believe they have stated this based on the facts that we deliver programs and services to all residents of the Northwest Territories.

One of the things we have done in the previous Assembly was to develop the geographic tracking costs of dollars spent in communities. I believe that is one of the areas where we can be involved, more in a sense of being almost like staff at the table where we can provide the numbers and show where expenditures have taken place.

I know it has been strongly put forward by a number of aboriginal governments that this government has no place at the negotiations. They feel the original agreements were signed between themselves and the federal government, and we have little role to play. I think that is where we have to build our partnerships. We have to show we are trying to work with one another in the Northwest Territories.

When I was a child, outside of school in the winter when they shoveled snow off the roof, there would be a huge mound of snow and we would play king of the hill. When recess was over, the last person standing was king of the hill. I use that scenario a number of times with people in my community. If we continue to go at one another in the Northwest Territories and not work in a true partnership, we are going to find at the end of the day that the hill is gone, and we will only have remnants to deal with. We will all suffer for it.

Yes, I agree that in the Northwest Territories, we cannot use the same model in every location. But there needs to be a little consistency to make sure that somebody from the Deh Cho will receive the same level of service as somebody in the Sahtu or in Yellowknife.

We have to build that into some sort of approach or model. How do we do it? That is going to be the work of the 14^th Assembly. We have a new mandate. I think we have to use this as an opportunity to create some innovative ways of dealing with the issues that are before us. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The Chair now recognizes Mr. Kakfwi.

Mr. Chair, I do not have any strong views on this. I have said before that there are some communities and regions where there is no resolution yet to the land claims or treaty land entitlement processes as well as self-government negotiations. This is one of the items that needs to be addressed by the leaders in the Akaitcho Territory, as well as people in the Deh Cho. I have committed to sit down with them to discuss items such as this and try to come to some resolution on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Are there any other questions for the new candidates? I have no one else on the list. The Chair recognizes the Member from Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko, for his final question.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. One of the things I had a real problem with as a Member of the 13^th Assembly, is that once we start going through the business plans, we seem to see different dollars being allocated to different areas and, also, that monies are moved around from one particular project to another.

And yet, we say we are an open government. It seems like there is still the idea there is a buddy-buddy system, if you do something for me or you support me on any particular issue or you vote the way that I want you to vote, I will do something for you on Cabinet. I think that that concept has to change.

There is a planning process in place in all our communities, which is the five-year capital plan. And one thing I found awfully frustrating in the 13^th Assembly is how they talk about an open government and allowing the Ordinary Members to be part of the planning process, but then when we find particular problems within the business plans, it is either too late, the decision has been already made or the contract has been signed.

I would like to ask the two candidates what will you do to ensure this is a fair government, that every community has just as much right to put in their business plans, and know that the five year capital planning process was done fairly and the dollars will be spread equally?

It does not matter if I am in Tsiigehtchic or Yellowknife or wherever, that there will be a fair open process compared to what we have had in the 13^th Assembly and in the past. May I hear the comments on that particular issue from the two candidates?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The first response will go to Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is a concern that has been raised for many years on many occasions. I think it is imperative we provide all Members with reasons why budget estimates, main estimates and dollar allocations change. There are legitimate reasons why they change. Sometimes commitments cannot be lived up to for whatever reason. Sometimes there are urgent requirements that compel the government or Ministers to reallocate resources.

But whatever the reasons are, I agree we should look for ways in which to provide that information to Members, so Members do not conjure up worse case scenarios about why it is being done. Members should know why it is being done. I think there are ways in which Ministers can also have that kind of picture because they do not always have it.

For instance, recently there was a decision not to provide cat train services to Colville Lake in my constituency. In a panic about it, someone wanted to know why. Was it because money was reallocated because there was urgent requirements somewhere else? I did not know, so I waited until the information was provided to me. And I was satisfied with the response I received, and I provided the information to my constituency. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons why that happens.

I think sometimes we do not know ourselves, but there is a requirement for Members to know. And I think there are ways in which it could be done. Again, this is something to discuss amongst ourselves, so we agree on how it should be done and so there is more accountability and transparency. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. The Chair recognizes Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I, too, was an Ordinary Member in the 13^th Assembly. I was at times disappointed that we had gone through a process of making priorities, allocating the budget numbers and a short time later finding out that they had been changed. The priorities that were used for the discussion in committees were changed after the fact. I believe when you approve numbers for a certain project in any specific community that the departments bringing forward those plans must have done their research to know what was possible and what was the outcome, as close as possible, in relation to the estimate of the project.

There are circumstances and emergencies, if there is a fire that burnt down a school or a complex in a community, then there are reasons to justify movement of resources. But I believe that an established system was put in place and, as Mr. Krutko stated, the five year capital review in communities to prioritize their community's interests that would come through the system to the Legislative Assembly and, once again, they would be looked at for the resources that were available and what could be achieved. And they would be put on a capital plan.

Again, it goes towards the accountability of government overall, right from your senior managers to your Ministers to this process in the House. We should fully implement what has been designed, and unless an emergency arises, when committees have gone through it and it has been approved and passed through the House, that is the way it stays. We can no longer afford to do things as they have been done in the past. We are beyond those days. At least, I hope we are. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The Chair now recognizes the Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.