Good afternoon. Orders of the day for Wednesday, April 1, 1992. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have two statements. First, as Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board, it gives me great pleasure to announce that Mr. Bryan Roberts has been appointed as the chairman of the Workers' Compensation Board of the Northwest Territories.

--- Applause

Mr. Roberts' appointment will be effective today and remain in effect pending confirmation of a longer-term appointee.

Mr. Roberts is the longest-serving employee of the Workers' Compensation Board, having been with the board since it was first established in the Northwest Territories. He has served previously as executive director, interim chairman, director of client services, and head of policy and planning of the Workers' Compensation Board, and is, therefore, very familiar with all aspects of the operation and evolution of the board.

I am pleased, Mr. Speaker, to be able to announce the appointment of Mr. Roberts, who is well known to northern employers and labour organizations. He will provide continuity through his current knowledge and lengthy experience. Thank you.

I wish to inform the House that an amendment was required to the Northwest Territories Act, as Members know, to confirm the amendment to the Official Languages Act of the Northwest Territories to extend the time for making all statutory instruments in English and in French to September 30, 1992. A bill to amend the Northwest Territories Act was given three readings in the House of Commons and the Senate, and it received royal assent on March 31, 1992. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Ministers' statements. Mr. Kakfwi.

Ministers' statements. Ms. Cournoyea.

Mr. Speaker, I have an emergency statement which I would like to make. Mr. Speaker, last night I met with the representatives of the Stanton Yellowknife Hospital to discuss what can be done to improve pain control measures used in the performance of abortions. We also spoke about counselling services and complaint procedures. At the meeting, direction was given to the hospital to develop a plan for providing patients with further choices for pain control, beyond those which it implemented the other day.

Mr. Speaker, the hospital board responded today by introducing a procedure that will allow patients to make an -informed choice on the method of pain control they wish to have administered. Patients will be provided with the options of pain control or medication alone, supplemented with local anesthetic or replaced with general anesthetic. The risk involved with each option will be explained to each patient; however, there will be instances in which a physician overrides the patient's first choice because of the risks involved.

Mr. Speaker, I also wish to announce that I expect the draft terms of reference for the independent inquiry to be available today. In addition, at a meeting this morning with Ms. Lynn Brooks of the Status of Women Council, she agreed that with the complainants' permission, she would provide copies of the complaints to an inquiry, through my office. The confidentiality of the complaints will be respected.

In conclusion, I will be circulating copies of the letter of direction provided to the Stanton board, the board's response and the draft terms of reference of the independent inquiry to Members later this afternoon. Thank you.

--- Applause

Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to correct certain media reports and statements about a discussion in this House about medical services provided at the Stanton Yellowknife Hospital. I want to say that if any allegations have been made, they have been made by the media by its reports

on the issues. Allegations have been made by the media that Members of this House were dwelling on Mr. Whitford, the person, on the issue of procedures and medical services.

Mr. Speaker, I asked the reporters who have been here to review and read Hansard. If you have just arrived, ask your media colleagues. They will -- or at least I hope they will -say that the issues have been clear, and that the facts will prove this. The issue has been health services and the statutory responsibilities of the Minister of Health, but, more specifically, certain surgical procedures used at the Stanton Yellowknife Hospital.

Mr. Speaker, my concern still remains. I believe that all people who have listened to the issue for up to two weeks believe that it is the statutory responsibility of any Minister and government to ensure that the well-being of the people of the North is properly protected, and that they have the assurances of the right to quality health services.

I want to say the Members on this side of the House have acted properly and have given many opportunities for the Minister and government to respond to our concerns. Still, today, all issues and concerns have not been dealt with or addressed in a manner that satisfies the Members of this Assembly. I will not be satisfied until the Minister has dealt with our concerns and the women of the North feel comfortable and are assured they are receiving the best quality health services. Thank you.

Members' statements. Mr. Pudluk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad to be back here. I would like to make a statement of concern to the residents of the Northwest Territories. There are many hunters, business people and unemployed people who get into accidents and have lost their limbs. Presently, there are a lot of these people in the North. These people have to go south to get fitted for artificial limbs. Artificial limbs take a long time to get used to, even if you have been wearing them for some time. They are not a normal part of the body. Once you get used to wearing them, they begin to wear out and have to be replaced again. Perhaps people with artificial limbs have to go through replacement of limbs a number of times during their lifetimes.

I think it is time for the NWT to get its own facility to produce and fit artificial limbs. Money is going to southern institutions for this kind of work, and people in the North have to wait a long time to have their limbs made or replaced when needed. People do not ask to get their limbs replaced even when they need to because they know that they need to make a trip to a southern institution to get fitted again. When they do get a replacement, oftentimes it does not fit.

I know about this personally because I have not utilized the artificial foot I obtained. You have to go south to get fitted, and they send it north, but when it does not fit, it is a real problem.

Mr. Pudluk, your time has expired.

(Translation) Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to continue.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Proceed, Mr. Pudluk.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, this really concerns me because I am one of them. A number of times I went down south to get a part for my foot, and a number of times it did not fit. This means that I had to travel back down south again and back. It is not necessary. I think those people making artificial limbs should travel once in a while to the communities to see if the artificial limb fits the person properly.

I know a young fellow who had an accident a couple of years ago. He is still growing up. Each year his foot gets bigger and bigger; the normal foot is growing. Very often those artificial limbs are worn out quickly, like my leg, my arm, my hands. If there is not a proper fit it could damage your body. I know that. That is what happened to me.

I know today is April Fools', but this is not an April Fool; this is true. As a matter of fact, I have an exhibit that I can show this House about what happened to me and what happened after the fitting. Mr. Speaker, this is what I have got: This artificial foot is worn out after wearing it because it fits; the other one, the new one, does not fit. It was fitted down south and sent to me. It is too soft, and sometimes I have a hard time putting it on. This other one is harder. I think it is like false teeth. If you have false teeth and they do not fit, it hurts your gums. This is the same thing.

There are a lot of people in the North suffering from this problem, and they would like to walk like you people do; I also would like to walk like you people do, not staggering. I think in the future this government should look into this problem, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

--- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Pudluk. The Chair would like to recognize in the gallery, Mr. Gary Bohnet, president, and Mr. Gordon Lennie, vice-president, of the Metis Nation.

--- Applause

Members' statements. Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we are all aware, there is a lot of work to be done in the NWT to improve literacy levels in all of our official languages. I am very pleased to tell the Legislative Assembly that Peter Gzowski, the host of CBC's Morningside show, will once again hold a golf tournament in the NWT to support community literacy projects. The community of Fort Providence will be hosting the third annual NWT Gzowski tournament.

The first two tournaments, held in Yellowknife in 1990 and Pond Inlet in 1991, became the focus of a number of community events to celebrate literacy. This year's tournament in Fort Providence will be no exception. Although the tournament will be held on Saturday, April 4, events leading up to it begin on Thursday, April 2. The band council, the hamlet council, Metis Nation Local No. 57, Arctic College, Elizabeth Ward School, the Zhahti Zue Teaching and Learning Centre, and Zhahti Koe Friendship Centre are working together to put on a series of events to show off Fort Providence to the visitors. Several of Fort Providence's local businesses are also providing support, including Sonny's MiniMart, the Northern Store, the Snowshoe Inn and Northland Utilities, NWT, Ltd.

Community events include a bannock and chowder lunch with the elders, reading and traditional crafts demonstrations in the Slavey language centre, the grand finale of a reading contest in which children have tried to read 1100 books in one month, a community feast, entertainment and drum dance.

This year southern celebrities include two singers, George Fox and Shari Ulrich, actors Sarah Polley and Cynthia Dale, journalist Victor Malarek and Avie Bennett, chairman, president and chief executive officer of McClelland and Stewart Inc.

Northern celebrities include Government Leader Nellie Cournoyea, Education Minister Titus Allooloo...

Your time has expired, Mr. Gargan.

Thank you. I would like to ask for unanimous consent to finish my statement.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Proceed, Mr. Gargan.

Thank you. I did not want to mention all the Ministers' names right away, so I could get consent.

--- Laughter

Northern celebrities include Government Leader Nellie Cournoyea, Education Minister Titus Allooloo, MP Ethel Blondin, and Chris Brodeur, chairman of the Arctic College Board of Governors. The roster also includes Joe "Pinto" Dragon, who is originally from Fort Smith and will attend his first Pittsburgh Penguins hockey training camp this August. Two young women from Fort Providence, Melanie Thom and Lorna Nadli, won an essay contest sponsored by the Department of Education. They will travel back home with the celebrities from Yellowknife and Fort Simpson, where they are attending high school.

Each Gzowski tournament has a poet laureate, who writes a poem about the event, This year's NWT tournament will feature two authors, Tim Wynne-Jones and northern author Michael Kusugak.

The community of Fort Providence is very pleased to have an opportunity to host one of Mr. Gzowski's tournaments and to give visitors an opportunity to experience true northern hospitality. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--- Applause

Members' statements. Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my statement is in reference to the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism. The people of Cape Dorset are interested in setting up a credit union, due to the lack of such facilities within the Territories. The people are very interested in setting up some banking facilities, which would be very useful in their community, and it would also encourage membership. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.