Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.

---Carried

Item, 10, reports of standing and special committees. Item 11, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 12, tabling of documents. Mr. Todd.

Item 12, tabling of documents. I have a document that, as Speaker, I wish to table. Tabled Document 52-12(4) is the Report on the Comprehensive Audit of the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, including the NWT Development Corporation and the NWT Business Credit Corporation which was requested by the Legislative Assembly and prepared by the Auditor General of Canada.

Item 13, notices of motion. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to give notice that on Thursday, December 9, I will introduce the following motion.

I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that this Legislative Assembly express its support for the construction and successful negotiation of a road through Wood Buffalo National Park from Fort Smith to Fort Vermilion. Thank you.

Item 13, notices of motion. Item 14, notices of motions for first reading of bills. Item 15, motions. Motion 3-12(4), Amendments to the Hours of Service Regulations and Large Vehicle Control Regulations. Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS the NWT hours of services regulations enacted pursuant to the Motor Vehicles Act requires a trucker to take a 24 hour break after completing 70 hours of duty time during a seven-day period;

AND WHEREAS, during the summer months many truckers are working on seasonal projects and are driving for limited periods of time on a small portion of the highways;

AND WHEREAS, the regulations are unduly restricted for small construction businesses in the Northwest Territories, in so far as they seek to limit hours of work for all truckers on highways, not just those truckers driving long distance;

AND WHEREAS, the province of Alberta permits truckers to drive for up to 13 hours a day;

AND WHEREAS, the large vehicle control regulations enacted pursuant to the Motor Vehicles Act place certain restrictions on the gross weight of vehicles;

AND WHEREAS, vehicles carrying gravel on short distances for construction purposes, outside a construction zone, must obtain an overweight permit;

AND WHEREAS, the need to obtain an overweight permit to transport gravel a short distance increases the administrative paperwork and costs to small businesses in the Northwest Territories;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Kitikmeot, that the Minister of Transportation immediately consult with truckers and workers in the construction industry, with a view to amending the hours of service regulations and the large vehicle control regulations so as to expand the hours that may be worked by truckers employed in construction industry.

AND FURTHER, consultation should also be held with a view to remove the requirement of an overweight permit for those truckers operating in the geographic area of a construction site.

Thank you, Mr. Gargan. Your motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to make this motion. The Government of the Northwest Territories has made allowance for the winter truckers after this legislation was lobbied and pushed for change. I believe that this proposed change to the legislation does not affect the public welfare and that the trucking industry in the Northwest Territories is mature enough to make sound recommendations to the Government of the Northwest Territories on this matter. It will be necessary to change the hours of service regulation, pursuant to the Motor Vehicles Act, to better reflect the operating conditions in the Northwest Territories. It will also be necessary to change the large vehicle control regulations, pursuant to the Motor Vehicles Act, so the Department of Transportation's engineers can make decisions regarding gross vehicle weights of trucks working on a GNWT highway project.

The changes truckers want will benefit small business operators in the trucking field, thereby encouraging economic development in the smaller communities in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, the motion will start the process for construction truckers in the Northwest Territories to work the same hours as the heavy equipment operators working on the same project. The motion is also for people driving trucks who are involved in road construction. It does not impact anyone who is driving long distance.

Mr. Speaker, the laws of the Northwest Territories are, I think, a bit out of touch with the reality of the short construction period that the contractors face in road construction. Mr. Speaker, this motion will enable small owner/operators to have a say in their destiny and, I believe, in the long run, allow the smaller operators to compete on a fair playing ground with the larger operators. I urge all Members to support me in this endeavour.

Thank you, Mr. Gargan. The seconder of the motion is Mr. Koe. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.

---Carried

Item 16, first reading of bills. Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nunakput, that Bill 5, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 5, 1992-93, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Pollard, your motion is in order. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.

---Carried

Item 16, first reading of bills. Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nunakput, that Bill 6, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 2, 1993-94, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Your motion is in order, Mr. Pollard. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.

---Carried

Both Bill 5 and Bill 6 have had first reading. Item 17, second reading of bills. Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nunakput, that Bill 5, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 5, 1992-93, be read for the second time. Mr. Speaker, this bill makes supplementary appropriations for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1993. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Pollard, your motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.

Question.