Mr. Patterson, your allotted time has expired.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. "I hear of so many people, especially in the smaller more isolated communities, whose rent would be far more than they earn. It is true there is this hardship allowance you mention, but that reeks of welfare and will turn many people off and make them leave the north. If your policy goes ahead, it will leave our hospital here truly understaffed. It is hard enough now to get staff, let alone if their take-home pay were to be severely cut. We have heard about teachers in Igloolik and we can be sure the same would be true of most other communities. Then there would be a tidal wave effect on the rest of the northern economy, failures of local construction companies, hotels, stores and even hardship for churches."

Mr. Speaker, I hope we can proceed and look at this objectively and cooperatively in order to avoid these dire consequences. I look forward to working with the Minister to that end. Thank you.

---Applause

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Ningark.

Mr. Ningark, your allotted time has expired.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and my colleagues. Mr. Speaker, the teachers and the government employees of the Kitikmeot region are willing to comply with the strategy, but they want fairness in the assessment. The assessment, by comparing Yellowknife to an isolated community, is not fair. Transportation costs, the availability of housing, the conditions of housing, and the climatic and geographic location of the smaller communities should be considered. As I have stated, Mr. Speaker, the chairman of the Kitikmeot board of education is opposed to the strategy as it is in the context which Mr. Minister has stated in his Minister's statement. During the appropriate time, I will be asking for action on some of the concerns which came from the Kitikmeot region government employees. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ningark. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to speak about the staff housing increases in the north. Mr. Speaker, I represent some of the smaller communities in the Baffin region and they are the northern communities. This proposed policy to raise the rent for staff housing is a concern of my constituents also. If this proposal goes ahead perhaps, Mr. Speaker, it should have some amendments to it before it comes into effect. The people are concerned this will be harmful for the teachers and some of the communities if it is implemented at all once. It should be

implemented gradually. I know this proposal will go ahead, but it should be done gradually rather than doing it all of a sudden. Perhaps the Minister should give more information to those people who are in government staff housing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Pudlat. Item 3, members' statements. Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have heard, in this House many times about the impact of alcohol and drug abuse in our northern communities. Mr. Speaker, nothing goes against traditional values that aboriginal women and men have held for centuries the way alcohol and drug abuse does. Nothing violates our homes, threatens the safety of women, children, elders and reduces community productivity the way alcohol and drug abuse does. Nothing harms the spiritual well-being of the individual the way alcohol and drug abuse does.

Mr. Speaker, I am concerned about what is happening with certain aspects of this government's administration of addictions treatment. Nothing is more unacceptable than administrative inefficiency in this area. Mr. Speaker, addictions are a family disease, I believe. It is important, especially within the holistic healing framework that Dene and Inuit have embraced for centuries, that the family should be held as a unit.

I understand that some community alcohol and drug workers have been advised by the Department of Social Services they will not fund out-of-territories referrals for families. I also understand that resources for treating the family unit in the Northwest Territories are limited or non-existent. I have even heard there is not enough money to send clients to specialize treatment programs in southern Canada until April 1993. That is not right, Mr. Speaker. The Minister needs to take a hard look at the decisions her Yellowknife officials have been making in this area. Chief Steve Kotchea of Fort Liard put it very well when we commented, and I quote "the circle can be broken, but mended with proper treatment." If we are going to keep the circle strong, Mr. Speaker, we must ensure that troubled families are offered opportunities to receive the very best treatment, otherwise we as elected officials will be contributing to the problem rather than the solution. I have faith in the Minister's abilities to correct this problem and I urge her to start working on it immediately. Mahsi cho.

Item 3, members' statements. Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Honourable Members will know for a long time I have been advocating changing the benefits that we provide to government employees to better reflect the economic times...

Sorry, Mr. Gargan, I am told this is your second statement today. That is against the rules.

---Laughter

---Applause

Time had gone so quickly I thought it was only yesterday that you had spoken. Item 3, members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Kakfwi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to oral question asked by Mrs. Marie-Jewell on December 2, 1992. The final plans for the aircraft maintenance facility in Fort Smith will be completed after the department receives and accesses the recommendations from the review of the forest fire management program. The recommendations will include a requirement for the use of large air tankers as the most appropriate method for managing forest fires. This information is required to complete the final design of the aircraft maintenance facility. No proposals for constructing the aircraft maintenance facility will be considered until the review of the forest fire management program is completed and assessed. Thank you.

Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, I believe the Minister of Personnel is aware of the case of Shovinai Mike. This lady made plans to move to a new unit before the new staff housing policy was announced, because with a family of six and a husband who is a student, she needed a cheaper unit with lower rent. I think the Minister's staff knew that when she requested the move. The problem, Mr. Speaker, is that she got caught in the new strategy. It was announced as coming into effect April 1, and it will now come into affect July 1, 1993. She has been hit with the new rent right away. This seems very unfair and she is feeling betrayed. Would the Minister consider ensuring that the implementation of the new rent increase on this employee, who moved in good faith and was told to expect lower rent, will now be delayed until the strategy is finalized?

Mr. Kakfwi.