Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is unfortunate my colleague, Mr. Gargan, is not in the House, but Mr. Speaker, I did want to make a statement in respect to some of the comments that were made yesterday. I, as a Member of this House, certainly feel that it is critical that the component of cultural programs remain within the school system.

I have been reading a small notebook called the "Fiddle and the Sash" which was produced from the history of the Metis of the Northwest Territories. With that, there is a part of education in the church which I would like to read to the Members. I think it reflects some of the reasons why we, as Members, are going to pay respects to the late Bishop Piche tomorrow. It states:

"Until the 1950s most Metis children were schooled by the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches. The churches ran residential and day schools with the financial assistance of the federal government. In the 1920s there were seven schools in the Mackenzie Valley. Children stayed in residence in the schools from grades one to nine, learning the basics of education, religion, skills such as: sewing; gardening; and wood crafts. Several former students showing the oblates of Mary Immaculate, O.M.I. and the Grey Nuns, have devoted their lives to the people of the north: Father Napoleon Lafferty; Patrick Mercredi; Sister Delilah Burke; Annie Cooper; Alice Delorme; Anne Mercredi; Agnes Sutherland; and Louise Tourangeau.

Many of the Metis Anglican students later served as lay readers and catechists for northern congregations. Sarah Stewart Simon along with her Gwich'in husband, the Reverend James Simon, ministered the Anglican faith to their people. Sarah, now at the age of 90, has served the church as catechist, interpreter, Sunday School teacher and organist. For her many years of religious dedication and service as midwife, she was awarded the Order of Canada in the fall of 1991."

Mrs. Marie-Jewell, your allotted time has expired.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I ask for unanimous consent to continue.

The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays, please continue, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you. Thank you, honourable colleagues. I think that it is of critical importance that the component of culture be instilled within our children, within our students of our school system from as early an age as possible. Whether it be the parents, the teachers, whatever educators that may assist, I believe that parents will gratefully appreciate it. Thank you.

---Applause

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to tell the House of the concern about the activities of Patterson's Sawmill. On March 3, I asked the Minister, the Honourable John Pollard, about the purchase of the Patterson Sawmill in Hay River and he stated, and I quote: "It was not a government decision, although it is my responsibility and I will take full responsibility for it."

I asked him about the number of trees required to run this mill, he indicated it was six to eight million board feet per year, and later on indicated that it would take about 10,000 to 12,000 trees per million board feet.

You are looking at approximately 96,000 trees to be cut this year. I am concerned because you stated very clearly that no logging would occur in the Liard/Nahanni Valley unless the communities and the people of that area are in agreement and in full cooperation.

I am very concerned because the Patterson Sawmill filed an application for a land use permit to cut timber in the area traditionally used by the Dene of Jean Marie River. There was no prior consultation. This application contradicts the assurance that the Minister provided to this House on March 9.

The people of that region are opposed to letting the Patterson Development Corporation operation into that area. There are a number of reasons for the opposition, it is a traditional hunting and trapping area, and one of the main points is that the Patterson Sawmill was previously in that area, before the development corporation took over, and the previous logging in the area was extremely dissatisfactory because of their logging methods. The job, the clean up, a lot of it was left behind.

There is some concern that this may happen again. The area in question, Deep Lake and McGill Lake, are the head waters of Jean Marie River and it is very harmful to fish from the lakes there, for the people around there.

The Jean Marie River Council has passed a resolution against this application. What I would like to say is that I am representing my constituency here, and am opposed to this application.

Mr. Antoine, your allotted time has lapsed.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays, please proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be calling on the Minister to respect the community of Jean Marie River and also his own promise to the House, by directing the N.W.T. Development Corporation and Patterson Sawmill to withdraw Patterson Sawmill's land use application, so that we can deal with this situation in a more consultative manner. Thank you.

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to congratulate the Honourable Stephen Kakfwi, Minister of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs on his successful meetings yesterday with the political leaders. I also would like to thank the Minister for meeting with the Delta and Gwich'in leaders, and the action which he will be taking in dealing with community concerns raised by those leaders on community initiatives. Mahsi Cho.

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Member's statement is regarding the community docks and wharfs. I will be speaking in my language.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The hunters in the communities all utilize boats because we know that there are high and low tides, with very heavy low tides and the weather itself is unreliable. The hunters, themselves, use their own canoes and they use big and small boats all the time. Canoes are very expensive to buy, especially for those who are unemployed. The outboard motors are very expensive, also.

People that do hunt with the canoes and big boats should have docks, if docks are available.

Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Kakfwi.

Proceed, Mr. Kakfwi.

Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Arvaluk.

I would like to recognize in the gallery, Mr. Randy Rivers and his grade 11 social studies class from St. Patrick High School. Returns to oral questions, Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Nerysoo.

The previous Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs had reviewed the extent of damage in the MacKenzie Delta after this spring's flooding, to determine whether it was appropriate to recommend invoking the Disaster Assistance Policy. After an undertaking of this review, the Minster advised the Premier that, although the MacKenzie Delta did experience flooding, the extent of significant damage was not wide spread to extend necessary to make damage assistance payments.

This decision was based upon the fact that disaster assistance is not meant to provide insurance coverage. It is extraordinary assistance meant to help residents after major damage occurs. It was thought reasonable to assume that individuals should be able to restore their property to its pre-disaster condition without disaster assistance.

Mr. Speaker, I reviewed this matter, I assumed the responsibility for this program, and found that the existing policy does not provide for assistance in this particular situation. Thank you.

Returns to oral questions. Oral questions, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.