Good afternoon. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Kakfwi.

Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Kakfwi.

Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to move the long-term staff housing strategy Minister's statement into committee of the whole. Thank you.

Is there a seconder to the motion? Mr. Patterson. The motion is in order. All those in favour? All those opposed? Minister's Statement 34-12(3) will be placed on the order paper for committee of the whole.

---Carried

Item 2, Ministers' Statements. Ms. Mike.

Qujannamiik. (Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be speaking in Inuktitut. Mr. Speaker, the AIDS virus, known as HIV, has been recognized as a serious concern for the future health of residents of the Northwest Territories since 1986. Since then, a major effort has been made to ensure that all NWT residents were made aware of the risk of infection and how to protect themselves. In spite of knowing about the risks, there is evidence that many people are not taking action. Within communities and regions, the understanding of AIDS/HIV infection is good and improving, but there is evidence that many people are not accepting the information. They are not practising "safer sex."

The patterns of infection in the NWT are unlike that of southern Canada, where the disease is found mainly among homosexual males and in drug users. In the NWT, the pattern is more like that found in most other parts of the world, where the disease is spread mainly by sexual contact between men and women.

Mr. Speaker, in the NWT, HIV infections have been reported in the young and in the old, among men and women, among aboriginal and non-aboriginal, in the "gay" and in the "straight" community, and among the rich and the poor. AIDS can be everyone's disease, and it is everyone's problem. We all must take it seriously if the epidemic now upon us is to be stopped.

It has become clear that public education activities to date have not been successful in changing sexual behaviour, which places people at risk of HIV infection. An effort to find out more about the attitude and beliefs that affect sexual behaviour is under way. Public educational materials will be redesigned to take advantage of information regarding their relative effectiveness.

Mr. Speaker, in 1991 this Assembly took some comfort from the seemingly slow spread of HIV infection among us. This year, there is little comfort from the rapid increase in reported cases and great peril in the evidence that even those who are aware of the risk of HIV infection are failing to protect themselves. We must convince everyone that they are at increasing risk of infection from unprotected sex. Stopping AIDS is up to all of us, the future existence of NWT society is at stake. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to clarify some accusations that have been made about me recently in the media. I am referring to the Focus North

program, which was aired on CBC February 1 and then on TVNC on February 3, 1993.

Mr. Speaker, it concerns me greatly that the media feels free to make allegations which are completely unfounded with no attempt on their part to verify their story with the person they are accusing. I was fortunate to see this program, but how many others have not been aware that their names have been thrown around with such disregard for the truth. I have learned to be sceptical of what the media chooses to tell the public. I certainly hope others do the same.

In this case, Mr. Speaker, the media insinuated that I had acted improperly while I was a Member of Cabinet. The program said that I awarded "choice government jobs" to family members. This is far from the truth. No evidence was offered to support this allegation and I was not even granted the courtesy of being contacted to see if this was the case. I would like to know what has happened to the journalistic principles of collecting and presenting the facts? I guess, in the eyes of Focus North, these ethics are outdated. They manufacture allegations to suit their story and to cause sensation. They pretend that they are the judge and jury.

After Focus North aired this program, I contacted their office to correct them and gave them the information that they could have obtained from me before airing the story. An apology was aired on the February 8 and 10 programs. Focus North admitted that they were not aware of any instances where I had acted as they suggested. I appreciate that this step was taken. However, I do wonder why the apology did not receive the same air time as the original allegation and why Focus North aired my picture during the original story, but chose not to do so for the apology.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to continue my Member's statement.

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

Mr. Speaker, by choosing not to air my picture during the apology, as they did for the original story, it would not have left the same impression with the public. Rather than making a simple and clear admission that they were wrong, Focus North chose to proceed their retraction with comments that made the apology superficial, at best. It appeared that Focus North was trying to leave room for doubt. I would have hoped that journalistic integrity, if not the wisdom that comes with maturity to admit sincerely when one is wrong, would have required a more convincing apology. Perhaps, apologies are too embarrassing in the television business. In any event, Mr. Speaker, my comments today are intended to correct any false impression that may have been left as a result of Focus North's shoddy reporting. As well, not everyone watches every episode of that program. I want to make it clear that the allegations and the insinuations made were not justified and not true.

While I was a Member of Cabinet, and in all my dealings with the House, I placed a priority on conducting myself with honesty and candidness, which caused much criticism to be directed my way. I wish all members of the northern media would make a concerted effort to be conscientious of determining the facts before spreading rumours to the public. Thank you.

---Applause

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Pudluk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have to protect the northern environment, specifically, we have to protect the environment surrounding our communities, from all pollutants. PanArctic Oil commenced oil exploration by drilling in the 1960s on the islands of the high Arctic, and are now in the last year of operation. Last year they were given a permit from the federal government to get rid of their metal waste and dump it into the sea. Because they have been given a permit to allow them to do this, they are now asking to do additional dumping this year. This year PanArctic plans to dump 400 tons of metal waste into the sea. Four hundred tons is about the size of Grise Fiord. The waste the company is planning to dump will not make much difference right now, but as Inuit people know, this will affect the wildlife we have depended on for years and will continue to depend on for years to come.

People living in the high Arctic are very concerned about the dumping of metal waste in the sea by PanArctic, and do not want any more of this, because they know that salt water is so strong it will eventually erode metal and waste contaminants. Waters of the high Arctic are not a dumping ground. PanArctic Oil was not worried about the cost to freight their equipment when they went to the high Arctic, but now that they have completed their explorations they are worried that it will be too expensive to bring their metal waste back down south. This is not acceptable to us. In 1953 when the federal government relocated the Inuit from northern Quebec to Resolute Bay and Grise Fiord they were not told they were being relocated to a dumping ground.

You have exceeded the allotted time, Mr. Pudluk.

I would like to ask for unanimous consent to continue.

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

(Translation) Thank you, colleagues. They were not told they were being relocated to a dumping ground. Instead they were told they were being relocated to a land that was clean with an abundance of wildlife and a better future. We do not accept the proposal of PanArctic to, once again, dump more metal waste into our sea because this will affect us in the future. I also think there should be a study done on wildlife in the sea and the food chain of wildlife in the high Arctic. Thank you.

Item 3, members' statements. Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our government has not done well in the handling of its staff housing policy. Mr. Speaker, we expect leadership and a sense of clear policy direction. In this case, I believe most of us agree with the policy objective, however, there has been a lack of clarity in placing those objectives in front of us. Much of this difficulty could have been avoided if the government had announced its policy in less detail. Many of the details could then have been worked out with various employers and associations through joint consultation. Instead changes are being made as a result of a bewildering variety of assaults on the policy from many quarters. It has made the government look very bad in my opinion. I believe it is now too late to commence a process of joint consultation, since the policy has been announced in considerable and ever-changing detail.

Agreeing to joint consultation, Mr. Speaker, should not be seen as a mechanism for subverting the will of the policy-makers. It should not be seen as a sign of weakness. It should be viewed as the very best way of ironing out the details with the people most affected by the policy. This is not a major public policy issue, Mr. Speaker. It is really a matter of a relationship between our government and the staff it employs to carry out its issues and its will.

The degree to which this issue is now dominating the political agenda of this Assembly is an affront when there are so many major issues affecting the future of our territories to be considered. If we find this issue dominates our time and effort to the exclusion of other pressing matters, Mr. Speaker, the fault clearly lies with this government in the way this issue has been handled.

I shall not be pursuing it publicly in this House because I believe it is a matter between our government and its staff. It should not be dominating an Assembly which is supposed to deal with all the major issues that are affecting the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

---Applause

Item 3, members' statements. Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to comment on the Social Service's policy which requires people who work at community-based alcohol and drug counselling facilities to make a commitment to abstain from the use of intoxicants.

Mr. Speaker, I support this policy. I have supported it right from the outset. I was pleased when my honourable colleague for Thebacha introduced a policy near the end of her term as the Minister of Social Services. I was pleased when both Mr. Whitford and Mr. Patterson continued to recognize the importance of this initiative.

Mr. Speaker, I feel it is more important than ever before to ensure that the dollars we are spending on alcohol drug prevention programs are having a maximum impact. I believe one of the factors in maximizing these effects are the positive role models which are presented to community residents by a healthy outlook and a personal commitment shown by alcohol and drug workers to embrace a substance-free life-style.

Contrary to earlier concerns, I believe this policy has proved to be enforceable and it has not lowered the morale or hindered the recruitment of workers as some opponents previously suggested. I would urge our new Minister of Social Services, the Honourable Rebecca Mike, to ensure this sobriety initiative remains as a basic cornerstone of the Government of the Northwest Territories funding agreements with the alcohol and drug agencies throughout the Northwest Territories. In doing so, she will be supporting the progress that has been realized to date and continuing the trend that has made the Northwest Territories alcohol and drug programs a leader amongst provincial and territorial administrators. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 3, members' statements. Mr. Patterson.