Dear Lord, we ask You today to help all of us to work in harmony as we try to develop our North for all the people. Give us the knowledge we need to do our work to the best of our ability; guide us as we serve You and the people of our land. We ask You for forgiveness when we do wrong in our thoughts and words and, Lord, we ask for Your help in placing our biases and prejudices aside as we deliberate each day. We ask for Your help to find positive solutions to many of the issues we discuss. Amen.

Good afternoon. Orders of the day for Tuesday, June 23, 1992. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the support of the Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, I am pleased to announce that the orientation program to architecture and engineering will be running for its fifth year this summer. The program is designed to expose the students to careers related to engineering and architecture and to the importance of continuing their school work in maths and sciences.

Fifteen high school students from Inuvik, Hall Beach, lqaluit, Paulatuk, Arviat, Rankin Inlet and Yellowknife have been selected. They will participate together in a week-longorientation session in Yellowknife. They then return to their home communities for a five-week, specially prepared work assignment under the direction of an employee from one of the sponsoring departments. For most students, this program is their first experience with summer employment at a typical workplace. All the students increase their understanding of the career opportunities available in the NWT and the efforts and skills that are essential to take advantage of these opportunities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Morin. Ministers' statements. Ministers' statements.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome to the Legislative Assembly Mr. Percy Kabloona, Mayor of Whale Cove, and Mr. Paul Kaludjak, Mayor of Rankin Inlet.

---Applause

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to make a statement about an interagency statement on social issues. The groups represented here today serve thousands of people across the NWT. They are diverse groups, but they share a common concern for the alarming social problems of our people.

First, the Status of Women Council states that approximately 4000 sexual assaults took place in the NWT last year. The majority of the victims were girls under the age of 19. Number two, the Yellowknife Day Care Association states that there are about 2300 children in the NWT who require child care, but there are only about 700 licensed spaces available. Sixty-six per cent of the women in the NWT with children under the age of six work outside the home.

The NWT Federation of Labour states that thousands of northern workers and their families, especially single mothers, workers without unions and youth, suffer from inadequate enforcement of outdated laws such as the 1974 Labour Standards Act. One million dollars spent on RCMP squads here in Yellowknife could have hired a dozen qualified inspectors to make sure NWT safety laws and workplace laws are properly enforced.

The national action committee states that one in 10 children in the NWT goes to school each day without food in their bellies. The Learning Disabilities Association of the NWT states that the 1986 census reports that 44 per cent of the NWT residents over the age of 15 are functionally illiterate. Seventy-two per cent of the aboriginal people over age 15 are in this group. Each year in the Northwest Territories, between 700 and 800 students leave the school system before graduation.

Northern Addiction Services states that in the spring of 1991 they opened a new 32-bed rehabilitation centre on the Dettah Road. The Department of Social Services provides operating funding for 20 of the 32 beds. Shortly after opening the new centre, the Department of Social Services commissioned Linda Bell, president and chief executive officer of Bellwood Health Services, to perform an evaluation of Northern Addiction Services. What are the government's plans for implementing the recommendations?

The YWCA states that...

Mr. Antoine, your allotted time has expired. Mr. Antoine.

I seek unanimous consent to continue with my statement.

The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Please proceed, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The YWCA states that in the last year only 20 per cent of abused women utilized shelters, while the other 80 per cent continued to be beaten. This government must ensure that women who have been beaten are able to seek safe shelter. Last year only 2.4 of the male abusers had access to counselling to stop their violent behaviour. Last year, children made up 51 per cent of those in shelters. However, there have been no new resources

made available for these children in order to stop the cycle of violence.

There is a group called CLASS, Casaw Ladies Association of Support Services, that represents 240 families whose family members are on strike at Royal Oak mine. They fund raise in order to take care of their own, but if this strike goes on much longer, they will have to turn to Social Services for assistance to feed their families. They object to the over $50,000 a days pent on the riot squad, which serves to inflame tempers and increase the potential for violence.

The Association of Community Living states that the territorial government spends $100,000 each year for every mentally handicapped person from the NWT living in a southern institution. The Yellowknife Women's Centre states social assistance recipients, many of whom are children, are constantly placed in jeopardy by government failure to abide by their own child welfare and financial assistance legislation and regulations. An adult on social assistance received only$184 per month for food and personal care items. Our cost of living is 25 per cent higher than the cost of living in Alberta, where an adult receives the same rate of $184.

The Native Women's Association of the Northwest Territories would like to bring the Government of the Northwest Territories' attention to programs and services. The Native Women's Association would like to state that they fully support programs and services that would address the issues and concerns that face aboriginal families in the areas of family violence. We support, they say, the wishes and desires of aboriginal communities, in that they must be allowed to identify and initiate their own programs and services.

In the recent release from the Commission on Western Constitutional Development, one of the recommendations was that the aboriginal communities receive recognition and funding for the healing process to begin in preparation for the transfer of programs and a move toward self-government.

Mr. Speaker, the group's goal is that they would respectfully request that the Assembly put aside their differences and work together as a team in order to address these pressing issues. There are dysfunctional communities, caught in a vicious cycle of violence, substance abuse, illiteracy and substandard housing conditions, that cannot properly benefit from decentralization or economic development. They ask that we commit ourselves to help the people first, and ask for a budget that reflects that commitment. They cannot see cuts to service delivery positions or to helping groups or agencies. They want to see cuts, instead, to government management and administration, cuts to all unnecessary government travel, particularly outside the NWT, and cuts to all non-essential construction. They want to see the government helping NWT organizations maximize, and they do not want to use outside consultants and groups. They would like it to minimize and eventually eliminate all outside consultants and groups. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-Applause

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Members' statements. Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the last week as we have been sitting, ordinary Members have been under some criticism for the appearance of not really taking the work of the Government of the Northwest Territories as seriously as they should. There has been a perception that we have spent our time, in fact, struggling with issues that are not to the benefit of all of the people of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, we all know that this is an unusual form of government. It is unique, and it is important to recognize that ordinary Members began four and a half years ago to try to find the areas in which there was a common purpose, a common understanding of things that mattered to the public at large, so the government would not be driven by one or two interest groups. I think it has been successful in doing that.

I would like to make this point today, Mr. Speaker, because the Member's statement we have just heard has made it clear that the public would like us to set aside our individual differences and to work together as a team. I believe that although at this early stage there are some problems that we have not completely resolved, I would like to assure the public that there is a dedication among all ordinary Members to work together. I think, from what I can see, if any individual Member seems to be pursuing a particular interest group or a particular line, if you like, that is of a personal nature, then we will be even more fragile than we are. I can assure the public that we do have some kind of vision and we will try to push for the kinds of changes that the public would like to see in the social area. Thank you.

-Applause

Members' statements. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I was coming to the Assembly, walking along the busy streets of Yellowknife a few minutes ago, it was business as usual; nothing out of the ordinary; everybody doing their own thing; crossing the street, people, trucks, cars, moving along; business as usual. But something very special was happening through the process that I saw that struck my inner spirit. A lady and her two little ones were crossing the street; two little ones crossing the street at the safety of their mother, given the assurance and kindness of their mother. The same process, Mr. Speaker, was repeated by different mothers with different kids.

-Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ningark. Members' statements. Mr. Gargan.

Mr. Speaker, honourable Members will recall that I have risen in this House several times to speak against the policy which the Workers' Compensation Board has used to define whether aboriginal people are "principally engaged" as traditional harvesters for the purpose of injury

compensation.

I have opposed this policy, Mr. Speaker, because it states that if you receive income from other sources for a period exceeding 131 days during the year prior to the accident, you are not principally engaged as a hunter or trapper. It also states -- and this is what I have disagreed with the most -- that If you do not earn a minimum of $10,000 from traditional harvesting for the 12-month period prior to the accident, then you are not to be considered as a hunter or trapper either.

The entire philosophy behind this definition of which hunters, trappers and fishermen are eligible for compensation under the Workers' Compensation Act misapplied non-native criteria related to the wage economy. It has, I believe, conveyed an inexcusable demonstration of the board's lack of awareness about traditional lifestyle and work patterns of aboriginal Northerners.

I am sure I should not have to remind you, Mr. Speaker, that for aboriginal people, being a hunter is a matter of how you live and not how much you earn. If an individual is seen by his family, his elders and his community as being principally engaged as a hunter or trapper, then he should be recognized as such by the Workers' Compensation Board.

I was comforted to learn that the Workers' Compensation Board review committee recently overturned an adjudicator's decision that was based on this policy. In doing so, the committee ruled that the policy is contrary to the spirit in which the Workers' Compensation Act was amended by the 10th Assembly when provisions for the hunters' and trappers' coverage were first included in the legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see that the board has recognized that this policy should never have been made. I will now be calling on the Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board to ensure that it is rescinded and that a new definition of '"principally engaged" - which reflects our honoured traditions as aboriginal people - is developed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Gargan. Members' statements. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to express concern over some of the speculation and inaccurate perceptions that I have heard recently with respect to the work that is carried out on the floor of this chamber. Mr. Speaker, I realize it is fashionable in some circles to be critical and suspicious of all politicians, and I realize that the media coverage of political pursuits has tended to capitalize on this fashionable trend by taking a cynical view of the role which is performed by elected officials in our contemporary society.

Mr. Speaker, I come here every day. I meet with my colleagues regularly. I chair and belong to standing committees, and I attend the ordinary Members' caucus on a regular basis. I want to tell you that the portrayal of ordinary Members as sharks circling the cabinet, as disruptive influences, has characterized this House as a snake pit; and it is simply not based on reality. I am personally fed up with it. I am particularly concerned, Mr. Speaker, by the manner in which the ordinary Member for Thebacha has borne the brunt of this belief.

During the last election, the message I heard more clearly was the crying need for government accountability in the Northwest Territories. Unfortunately, where ministerial government exists in conjunction with public service entrenchment in its own way of doing things, this is not always a warm, fuzzy process. However, ordinary Members on this side of the House are committed to ensuring that government departments, agencies, and Ministers will be held accountable. This is what leads us to good government.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Todd. Members' statements. Mr. Koe.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to say a few words about the Society for Friends Against Family Violence. The Society for Friends Against Family Violence has been very active in the town of Inuvik. The society has been actively pursuing funds for programs to be delivered in Inuvik. The statistics show that services are badly needed in the area of family violence. There has been and is a definite requirement for services to be offered to individuals in the smaller communities, as well as Inuvik.

The society recognizes the need for services and has identified various programs once funding is acquired. The services they are looking at are: emergency houses; housing; crisis intervention and counselling; life skills counselling; legal advocacy; children's support group; public education; women's resource room; nutrition counselling; and parenting skills. Friends Against Family Violence is also planning to build a network with elders so that an intergenerational program can be delivered for children. Friends Against Family Violence is looking to other organizations, such as the Gwich'in Tribal Council and Inuvialuit Regional Council, for involvement in regard to providing additional funds for counsellors' positions. This will ensure that more aboriginal people are trained to work in this field. Aboriginal counsellors trained in this field will certainly benefit the programs' success.

Mr. Speaker, these programs are required to ensure that we have healthy communities with healthy individuals. We also need to promote programs that focus on family development. The programs that the Friends Against Family Violence are proposing to deliver will assist in providing a foundation for a healthy community and a healthy society. would like to commend the members of the society for the time and effort they have put into this important issue. I would also like to thank the Minister of Social Services for his support in being able to secure some funding for the society. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to speak on this important issue.

-Applause

Thank you, Mr. Koe. Mr. Arvaluk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have to speak my mind today. We listen to news items go through the electronic media as well as the paper medium. For example, in my community above the tree line in the Eastern Arctic, I hear nothing but bad news in reference to our work in this House. While I am aware that the people involved in producing the news have an obligation to sell news and to keep us informed, Mr. Speaker, I want it to be known that CBC should not be selling their news to the receiving media, especially in Inuit communities. They should not be selling commercials within those communities. Because of that, first of all I want to say that we are happy with the performance of the aboriginal people, because they present a balanced view

of things happening, and Radio Canada is not part of the Work provided by CBC, so I want to state my support for the news that is provided by CBC Eastern Arctic. I encourage them to continue producing their work within their own style because it helps to promote awareness of what we are trying to do. When we keep hearing bad news about what is happening here, it causes concern; and the image is that good things are not happening within the House. This is the image that is also being received by visitors. So I encourage the aboriginal media to continue their efforts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Arvaluk. Members' statements. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr .Speaker, I rise today on the topic of the media and how they are creating an atmosphere of MLAs doing nothing but fighting. Mr. Speaker, MLAs, as my previous colleagues have stated, are attempting to make the government accountable. The media, particularly News North, believe that the attempt to make government accountable is my personal vendetta. I have to tell them that their allegations are totally wrong.

--- Applause

My colleagues have stated that I speak many times on behalf of the ordinary Members' caucus and not on my own agenda. Mr. Speaker, let me assure you that if I had my way, I would address the continually increasing costs of providing RCMP for Royal Oak that may have to be absorbed by this government; the concern of many social problems that we face in the North; the concern of the housing shortage that we face in the North, and the list can go on and on. The fundamental problem that we faced during these past couple of sessions is that we were working in this House without a budget presented to us. We have difficulty in asking questions on programs. We have another problem. particularly myself: Whenever I want to ask a question, many of my questions are taken under notice.

Mr. Speaker, it is not my intention whatsoever to create a violent atmosphere. It is, however, our intention to make the government accountable. Mr. Speaker, I would request, in fairness, that the media be courteous and be responsible in reporting our actions as MLAs.

However, I do want to indicate one particular message that I have always wanted to say: that I am happy that they take the time to write or report about me, because at least the energy you focus on me allows you to leave someone else alone. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mrs. Marie-Jewell. Ms. Mike.