Good afternoon. Before I proceed with the orders of the day, I would like to provide the House with my ruling on the point of order raised by the Member for Thebacha, Mrs. Marie-Jewell, on February 22, 1993.

Speaker's Ruling

I have taken some time to provide my ruling on this matter as I feel it is important that this ruling, as with all rulings, are well reviewed as they become precedent on which future rulings are based. Often times rulings are more complex than they originally appear.

I would like to advise the House that the Speaker's responsibility in ruling on a point of order is to base his decision on the facts as presented in the House and recorded in Hansard. The chair should not take into account any influences that may or may not take place inside or outside the House except when hearing debate on a point of order.

I feel it is important that I lay out the events that led up to the point of order. Upon my review, the matter was initiated with the Member for Thebacha's Member's statement on Friday, February 19, 1993, and recorded on pages 1430 to 1432 of the unedited Hansard. The Member's statement was regarding the Housing Corporation Minister's handling of a complaint. As the events unfolded before the House on Monday, February 22, 1993, the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, the Honourable Don Morin, under the item Minister's statements, made a statement in response to the Member for Thebacha's Member's statement. These comments are recorded on pages 1491 to 1492 of the unedited Hansard. I will make comments on the content of these speeches in due course.

On the same day, the Member for Thebacha, Mrs. Marie-Jewell, under the item Member's statements, made a statement on the Minister's statement regarding his handling of the complaint. This is recorded on pages 1495 to 1497 of the unedited Hansard. Later the same day, the Member for Thebacha, during oral questions, raised a point of order which is recorded on page 1507 of the unedited Hansard. The point of order raised by Mrs. Marie-Jewell was that the Member for Tu Nedhe had called her irresponsible. The Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Morin, also raised a point of order that the Member for Thebacha had called him ignorant. Mr. Morin's point of order was resolved, as the Member for Thebacha apologized for using the word "ignorant."

To the point of order raised by Mrs. Marie-Jewell on the use of the word "irresponsible" being unparliamentary, I would like to put it into context and indicate how the word was used by Mr. Morin. I quote from page 1492 of the unedited Hansard, "I welcome constructive criticism from Members of the House, but I will not allow myself to be abused in an irresponsible manner by a Member who, on one hand, expects to be dealt with in a courteous and professional manner but, on the other hand, is not willing to act that way herself." There are a number of parliamentary authorities that I reviewed on this matter. Comments made by both Mr. Morin and Mrs. Marie-Jewell certainly provoked the exchange that occurred. I would like to provide the House with some of the citations that I took into consideration in preparing this ruling.

From Beauchesne's Parliamentary Rules and Forms, 6th edition, "Citation 481 - It has been sanctioned by usage that a Member, while speaking, must not: impute bad motives or motives different from those acknowledged by a Member; make a personal charge against a Member."

Under the matter of referring to Members in debate, I quote Beauchesne's 484(3), "In the House of Commons a Member will not be permitted by the Speaker to indulge in any reflections on the House itself as a political institution; or to impute to any Member or Members unworthy motives for their actions in a particular case; or to use any profane or indecent language; or to question the acknowledged and undoubted powers of the House in a matter of privilege; or to reflect upon, argue against or in any manner call in question the past acts and proceedings of the House, or to speak in abusive and disrespectful terms of an act of parliament."

I feel these citations could be applied to the matter before us. To put the matter in context, I would like to quote from Mrs. Marie-Jewell's Member's statement contained on pages 1430 to 1432 of the unedited Hansard, and I quote, firstly, "I had faith that the Minister would take the issue seriously and would take responsibility to find an appropriate resolution;" secondly, "I am so disappointed and concerned with the cavalier manner in which he dealt with my constituent's concern;" and thirdly, "I believed that he would take a professional approach and attempt to resolve the matter, however, he did not." I would like to quote the comments of Mr. Morin as contained in his Minister's statement, "She claims that I am not taking my job seriously, I am cavalier, unprofessional, forgetful, unhelpful, lazy, irresponsible and unconscientious."

I find that the comment of Mrs. Marie-Jewell provoked Mr. Morin's Minister's statement and his interpretation of the comments made by Mrs. Marie-Jewell. On the use of unparliamentary language, I would like to offer citation 486(1) of Beauchesne's 6th edition, which is also relevant to the matter under consideration, "It is impossible to lay down specific rules in regard to injurious reflections uttered in debate against particular Members, or to declare before hand what expressions are or are not contrary to order; much depends upon the tone and manner, and intention, of the person speaking; sometimes upon the person to whom the words are addressed, as, whether the person is a public officer, or a private Member not in office, or whether the words are meant to be applied to public conduct or to private character; and sometimes upon the degree of provocation, which the Member speaking had received from the person alluded to; and all these considerations must be attended to at the moment, as they are infinitely various and cannot possibly be foreseen in such a manner that precise rules can be adopted with respect to them."

In making my ruling, I was guided also by the following citation 494, from Beauchesne's, which is an important principle, "It has been formally ruled by Speakers that statements by Members respecting themselves and particularly within their own knowledge must be accepted. It is not unparliamentary temperately to criticize statements made by Members as being contrary to the facts; but no imputation of intentional falsehood is permissible. On rare occasions this may result in the House having to accept two contradictory accounts of the same incident."

Prior to providing my ruling, I would like to convey to the House that it is the right and responsibility of ordinary Members to question the actions of Ministers as they carry out the responsibilities they have been charged with. Mrs. Marie-Jewell was exercising her rights as a Member by making her Member's statement. The Minister, Mr. Morin, was well within his rights to defend his actions in undertaking the most fundamental aspect of government policy, that is how government Ministers respond to the requests of MLAs. However, both Members must use language appropriate to this House when doing so. As indicated earlier, it is impossible to lay down any specific rules in regard to injurious reflections uttered in debate against particular Members or to declare before hand what expressions are or are not contrary to order.

Much depends on the tone and manner and, more importantly, the intention of the person speaking and, sometimes, upon the person to whom the words are addressed. I feel that Members' responses are sometimes influenced by the degree of perceived provocation in other Members' comments. It is not unparliamentary to criticize statements made by Members as being contrary to the facts, but no imputation of intentional falsehoods are permissible. As outlined in citation 494, "on rare occasions, this may result in the House having to accept two contradictory accounts of the same incident." I feel that this may be the case in the exchanges between Mrs. Marie-Jewell and Mr. Morin. I would caution Members that the process both Members used were within parliamentary procedure, but the tone and words used by both Members caused the matter to escalate to a point unacceptable to this House.

To the point of order on the use of the word "irresponsible" by the Minister, Mr. Morin. Even though the Minister did not directly refer to the Member as irresponsible, he referred to the "irresponsible manner" of the Member. The words "irresponsible Member" were ruled unparliamentary on May 8, 1969 in the House of Commons. Taking into consideration the authorities I have reviewed, I rule that the use of the word "irresponsible" by Mr. Morin in this incident is unparliamentary and will request the honourable Member to withdraw that word. Mrs. Marie-Jewell has apologized for her use of an unparliamentary word. Mrs. Marie-Jewell has apologized to the Speaker and, at the appropriate time today, I will table the letter to the Speaker from Mrs. Marie-Jewell. I feel it would be appropriate if the Minister also apologized.

I would hope that all Members will take my words to heart and conduct themselves in a constructive manner that is in the best interests of the people of the Northwest Territories. With this ruling, this matter is now closed. The House can return to its business and the chair will not entertain further comments on this matter. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to withdraw the words "irresponsible Member." Mr. Speaker, in my statement on Monday, February 22, 1993, I in no way intended to insult this House by suggesting that one of its Members was irresponsible regarding their general duties in this House. If it was taken otherwise, Mr. Speaker, I apologize. I will continue to work closely with Members of this House to resolve the many outstanding and serious challenges facing the north. I hope we can all rise above personal conflicts to meet these challenges. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you. The matter is now concluded. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Later today I will table the review of Workers' Compensation in the Northwest Territories. The review was prepared by Mr. Garnet Garven, former chairperson and chief executive officer of the Saskatchewan Workers' Compensation Board and presently a research fellow at the National Centre for Management, Research and Development at the Western Business School, University of Western Ontario. The review was initiated by the former Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board, the Honourable Dennis Patterson, on the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions. In their interim report under workers' compensation, the committee recommended "that the Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board prepare a legislative action paper outlining proposed areas for amending the Workers' Compensation Act..."

Mr. Speaker, this review is not meant to serve as a legislative action paper. The time lines and scope of this review did not allow for the development of such a paper in the short two months that Mr. Garven was given to complete his work. Rather, it is intended to serve as a blueprint, identifying the broad policy considerations to be included in the legislative action paper. It is my intention to develop and present this paper to the Legislative Assembly prior to the end of this current sitting.

Although the primary focus of this review has been the interim and final reports of the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions, the chief commissioner also reviewed previous reports on the Workers' Compensation Board of the Northwest Territories. Meetings were also held with employer and labour organizations, past and current directors of the board, management and staff of the board and the Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada. I will stress, Mr. Speaker, that this consultation process was not meant to be exhaustive. It is important that the amendments to this very important legislation be done in consultation with all stakeholder groups. These groups will have other opportunities to provide their views on the amendments to the Workers' Compensation Act during the review of the legislative action paper and the review of the proposed new bill. Thank you.

---Applause

Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Arvaluk.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Between June and October, 1991, the Keewatin region experienced a devastating disease outbreak caused by E. coli 0157. This epidemic will go down in history as the largest incidence of gastro-enteritis caused by E. coli in the world. Mr. Speaker, a total of 521 cases were recorded, six settlements were affected, Arviat, Baker Lake, Rankin Inlet, Whale Cove, Chesterfield Inlet and Sanikiluaq.

Tragically, two little children died as a result of the disease, Mr. Speaker. Many more suffered painful symptoms and a disruption of community living that lasted through the entire summer. It was a dreadful experience, Mr. Speaker, one that reminded many Keewatin Inuit of the devastation our people have suffered through disease epidemics in the past. Now that the critical period has passed, it is vitally important that we learn everything we can about how these terrible things happen. We will never be able to bring back those two little children and we will never be able to replace those painful summer months but, hopefully, a careful review of the causes of the outbreak and the response of the health system will help us deal with similar threats which may face us in the future.

I am very pleased, Mr. Speaker, that the Keewatin regional health board has completed a major report which documents scientific findings related to E. coli outbreaks. As well, this report contains 20 recommendations which, in my view, must be implemented without delay. As you will note, Mr. Speaker, the report also singles out Obed Anoee, a community health representative in Arviat, for special praise. Noting that, "His hard work, good humour and willingness to be proactive was critical in helping to control the spread of the epidemic." I believe Mr. Anoee and all the staff of the Keewatin regional health board deserve special recognition for the work they did during those difficult times.

Excuse me, Mr. Arvaluk, your allotted time has elapsed. Mr. Arvaluk.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to continue.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will be tabling this important report later today. Tomorrow I will be asking the Minister of Health for a status report on the recommendations that have been made. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe your ruling today will create an environment where this entire incident can be drawn to a conclusion.

Hear, hear.

I thank you very much for your ruling. However, Mr. Speaker, I want to take a few moments to apologize to my constituents who have been without public representation in this House for the past two days. Mr. Speaker, the circumstances that caused me to be absent certainly have been, indeed, regrettable. I believe, Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons the people of Thebacha have sent me here is they know I have strong principles and will not allow myself to be placed in situations where those principles are compromised. I would like to thank them very much for their support over the past two days. I certainly hope they accept my apology for not representing them in this House. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mrs. Marie-Jewell. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about an agreement which was made between the Government of the Northwest Territories and an aboriginal group. A memorandum of agreement was signed on November 7, 1991, between the Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the Gwich'in Tribal Council. The two groups agreed to establish a territorial park at Campbell Lake just a few kilometres south-east of Inuvik.

Mr. Speaker, the planning and management of the park at Campbell Lake, originally named Gwich'in Territorial Park, offers some valuable opportunities for local employment and training. I believe this local involvement should begin immediately and should include making some budget allocation decisions for the upcoming fiscal year in both this government and the Gwich'in Tribal Council.

The memorandum of agreement between the two groups states, "The council shall be involved in the production of a park management plan." The agreement further states, "The council shall be responsible for developing and operating the park under contract to the Government of the Northwest Territories." This agreement specifically mentions the development of outdoor recreational activities, outdoor orientation and interpretive programs and a plan for the protection of the natural environment of the park. The Gwich'in Tribal Council is ready to begin this important work immediately. The council has invested in state-of-the-art satellite imagery of the Inuvik and Campbell Hills areas. The council is also acquiring computer equipment and the expertise to make use of other geographic data, including aerial photography, as a need for park planning, promotion and management. The Gwich'in Geographics, the geographic information system company, and the Gwich'in council are establishing and cost-effectively managing all of the GIS needs...

Mr. Koe, your allotted time has elapsed.

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

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and my colleagues. In meetings with the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, the council was informed that the government will allocate about $75,000 to the Gwich'in Territorial Park for the upcoming fiscal year. Among the planned work tasks are many which can best be performed by the new company, Gwich'in Geographics. However, Mr. Speaker, Economic Development and Tourism representatives stated that this work will be done by government employees from Yellowknife. This approach minimizes the opportunities for local people to directly benefit from this work. Furthermore, I do not believe this approach makes fiscal sense. On the contrary, we believe that awarding the geographic information systems work to Gwich'in Geographics will result in significant cost savings to this government.

In light of the above, the council believes that local involvement in park management must include decision-making power regarding next year's budget. We believe this level of involvement is in keeping with the intent of the memorandum of agreement. Mr. Speaker, I fully support the tribal council's initiatives, especially their attempts to create economic opportunities and jobs for their people. I also support this government's initiative to make these types of opportunities available and give the government support to do the things they wish to do. However, I believe this government should live and abide within the spirit, intent and the environment in which the agreement was signed. It seems that when agreements are made between senior departmental staff and other groups, the intent, the understanding or agreement is not communicated to the working staff, those officers in the department and especially the regional staff.

Thus when a group is trying to get the work done, they continually get caught up in bureaucratic red tape. Mr. Speaker, this has to stop. Mahsi.

I do not want to single out Mr. Koe on this next observation, because other Members have actually been doing it also, but it seems the trend of late is that a majority of Members' statements are going beyond the two and a half minutes. Even though that is allowed in the rules, by asking for unanimous consent, ultimately it begs the question that, if no one follows the rule, why do we have the rule? I would ask Members if they could try to consider that the rule does state two and a half minutes. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will obey your command. I will keep my comments to two and a half minutes or less. About a year and a half ago, I made a presentation to a national commission on peace and security. In my presentation to Iona Campinola and her colleagues, I pointed out there were not many people in the Northwest Territories who could remember the second world war. That is a vivid demonstration of how important it was to have some defence force.

Everywhere in this world, national governments assume the responsibility for defence. I also pointed out to the commission, Mr. Speaker, that in a rapidly changing world, we should be looking not only in our own narrow interest to defend our own country, but to keep the world a secure place. I am happy to see our own government now seems to be moving even further in the direction of ascertaining that. One of the things we do well in, and have a reputation throughout the world, is peace keeping, and as demonstrated last to early this week, when there was a presentation on the clean up of the DEW Line, the military is also playing a role in helping us preserve our environment, because that also is threatened and very much relates to the need to have peace and security. Mr. Speaker, I know there are some people who worry about the action of the military, but I believe they are on the right track in looking at our world role and the role of preserving the environment. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Lewis. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Whitford.

Mr. Whitford, I would like to caution Members that words made by a Member before they become a Minister are irrelevant to a Minister's performance. Perceived management styles within this Legislative Assembly are not an appropriate judgement for Members to make. I wonder if I could please caution the honourable Member in the comments he is making about the honourable Minister. Thank you. You may continue, Mr. Whitford. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, I am receiving strong expressions of concern from my constituents about incidents of power failures in Iqaluit this week. Constituents are concerned that there were three interruptions on February 23, including a 90 minute power failure in the evening. They are anxious to find out the cause of these problems. I want to give the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation notice that tomorrow I will be asking for some explanations as to why these frequent breaks occurred and what might be done to prevent this from happening again. It is unusual, power has been reliable over the years in Iqaluit, but incidents this winter have caused my constituents some concern. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Zoe on February 18 regarding costs for the review of the fire management program.

Mr. Speaker, the estimated cost of the contract issued for the review of the fire management program is $290,000. Thank you.

Item 4, returns to oral questions. Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Gargan on February 23, 1993, regarding medical counselling and information services for women.

The Department of Health in conjunction with Stanton Yellowknife Hospital and regional health boards is closely monitoring all aspects of the abortion implementation plan. In the new fiscal year the Department of Health will prepare a summary of progress and specific actions taken to implement the recommendations.

Station Yellowknife Hospital tabled their "abortion recommendation response plan" at the December 1, 1992, public board meeting. The board has directed administration of Stanton Yellowknife Hospital to provide a quarterly update; the next update is due at the April 20, 1993 board meeting. In addition, there will be an evaluation of the response plan at the end of one year. Stanton Yellowknife Hospital does conduct reviews to ensure patients are provided with appropriate information. Thank you.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome, in the gallery, Pam May and her grade six students from Sissons school.

---Applause

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

Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will, in fact, meet that deadline. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Pudluk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Social Services. I received a letter February 11, 1993, from a person who was concerned about social assistance. In our constituency it is much more costly than in the south. Because many items are more expensive than they are in the south, I wonder if there could be a review done to see if these individuals should be receiving higher social assistance? Thank you.

Ms. Mike.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will look into the matter the Member is questioning. Until the appeal committee reports or tables their concerns to us, there is nothing we can do. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Pudluk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With regard to the committee you mentioned, do you have any idea when they will put in a request? Thank you.

Ms. Mike.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to answer the question again. There is a policy with regard to how much a person is supposed to receive as social assistance. I believe that without the committee requesting this of us, we cannot do anything. Thank you.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Arvaluk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I did not quite understand the response given by the Minister of Social Services. I believe the question was when is the committee, which she mentioned, going to submit how the policy will be changed? Thank you.

Ms. Mike.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The committee which I mentioned is the Special Committee on Health and Social Services. I am waiting for them to submit their report. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Arvaluk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When are you expecting them to submit this? Thank you.

Ms. Mike.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps you should speak to our colleague, Charles Dent, who is the chairman. I do not know when they are submitting their report. Thank you.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a further question for the Minister of Social Services regarding the issue of social assistance rates. The Minister should be aware that an interim report of the Special Committee on Health and Social Services has already recommended that the rates paid for food, by her department, come no where near meeting the real costs in communities, and particularly isolated communities of the Northwest Territories. Is the Minister, in her response to Mr. Arvaluk, suggesting that she is going to take no further action on the issue of social assistance rates until she gets the final report of the special committee?

Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I did not suggest that. We have a Social Assistance Act which we are regulated by. I am hoping that the final report will indicate to make changes to the legislation. I can then do something about it. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Mr. Speaker, I am not satisfied with the honourable Minister's answer. Mr. Speaker, the special committee has recommended that rates be reviewed on an urgent basis and that they are not adequate to meet the real costs in our communities. Mr. Speaker, I am not aware that legislative amendments are required to change or improve social assistance rates. Is the Minister going to review those rates or is she going to hide behind the delay required to receive the final report of the special committee?

Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A recent five per cent increase in the social assistance food allowance, which occurred on October 1, 1992, only covers the increase in the consumer price index. I will look into this further and get back to the Member. Thank you.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like clarification from the Minister of Social Services. In 1992 we were deliberating regarding the bill. The bill refers to the secretaries of those committees in the communities. To date, I have not seen it. Have they done anything about the social services workers' alcohol committee abstaining from alcohol consumption? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Ms. Mike.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to get further clarification. Are you asking about the alcohol committees, or is it the people who are on the committee with regard to social services? Thank you.

Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The bill seems to be directed to both parties. The alcohol committees seem to be included in the bill also. Have they pursued the issue of abstaining from alcohol completely, if you are a worker for those parties?

Ms. Mike.

(Translation) The policy is the same as it always was, the workers in the communities have to completely abstain from alcohol consumption. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The secretaries of the committees are not actually counsellors. They are just secretary-treasurers of those committees. They also want the secretary-treasurers to completely abstain from alcohol consumption. Thank you.

Ms. Mike.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not think there was a question. I think he just made a statement.

It was a question, Ms. Mike. Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the statement the Member just made, there was no question in Inuktitut, from what I understand. Thank you.

My understanding of it was that there was a question. It is whether the secretary-treasurers of these organizations are subject to the same policy. Ms. Mike.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The policy is still the same. There have not been changes to it. I will look into this and get back to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today in my Member's statement I referred to the memorandum of agreement between the Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the Gwich'in Tribal Council to develop a territorial park at Campbell Lake. In the agreement it states that the Gwich'in Tribal Council shall be responsible for developing and operating the park under a contract to the Government of the Northwest Territories according to the park management plan. Why is the department not willing to utilize the expertise and technology being offered by the Gwich'in Tribal Council to establish this new park?

Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will take the question as notice.

The question has been taken as notice. Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Whitford.

Mr. Todd.

Mr. Speaker, I do not think there is any timetable as such. Right now we are at the consultation stage. The draft of the legislation has been provided to interested groups in the territories. It has also been provided to the members from Yellowknife because that seems to be where the majority of domestic workers and nannies are active. At this time, I see the process as relatively open until such time as we can get the appropriate input from those people who are concerned about this particular issue.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Zoe.

Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is a bit more complex than just a plan. It is true that I presented it to the Premier last year. She had some comments for me that I had to take back and examine. That has been done. Her concerns have been addressed, I believe. As I said, the revised plan is at work and still rests with the Premier and myself. We will meet the deadline of making those adjustments by the end of the fiscal year, Mr. Speaker.

Item 5, oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Zoe.

Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not think it is very drawn out. I did say we would address it by the end of this fiscal year and we certainly intend to do that. Mr. Speaker, when you are trying to address the concerns of the standing committee, which we are doing, we also have some issues which we want to address in the departments of government and one area is in the Department of Finance. We decided rather than just make some adjustments and later down the road make more adjustments, we would look at the overall situation to see how we could satisfy all the needs of the Executive and of this Legislative Assembly. We are not dragging it out, we are just making sure what we do will work and making sure what we do addresses the concerns that Mr. Zoe has brought to this Legislative Assembly. As I said, it will all be done by the end of this fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Zoe.

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, just being aware of the concerns of the committee and the concerns raised by the Auditor General, I have directed people in the department to be cognizant of those concerns during their jobs and carrying out their duties as they are at the present time. I did not make any structural changes, but just merely being aware of the concerns was enough to impress upon the individuals in the department what their responsibilities and roles should be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Dent.

Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board, Mr. Todd.

First of all, I agree with the honourable Member, it does seem somewhat an intimidating environment. I have asked the new management of the WCB to take a hard look at it because it does seem somewhat intimidating when you need a card to get into the loo as they would say. With respect to the cost of this security system, I do not have that information at hand but I am prepared to provide that information to the honourable Member and will take the question as notice. Is that correct?

That is correct, Mr. Todd. The question has been taken as notice. Item 5, oral questions. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism but, Mr. Speaker, I am somewhat concerned about questioning because of our conflict of interest guidelines. I have not had time to check with legal counsel of the House on my questioning because I have been in intensive meetings right up until the bell rang in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I want the Members to be aware that there was a fairly significant announcement made in Fort Smith this morning. No doubt the community and the residents are very disappointed and probably devastated that the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has decided to close its operations effective Friday, June 4. The reason why I have trouble with my questioning is the fact that our conflict of interest guidelines may come into play. I would like to know what the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism and Finance, has done to advise the community what this government has done in regard to preventing the closure of that bank in Fort Smith?

Before the Minister responds to the question, I would like to remind Members if they have any doubt about the possibility of running into problems with the conflict of interest legislation or regulations, they should seek legal advice themselves. It is their responsibility to do that. I would just like to caution Members always on that particular issue. Mrs. Marie-Jewell, knowing that, would you still like the question to go forward? Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is of critical importance for my constituents to determine whether this government did anything to prevent the bank from closing. That is basically what I want to know. I believe I would be on safe ground to ask that question.

Thank you, Mrs. Marie-Jewell. Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, before I answer the question I should tell you that Mrs. Marie-Jewell and myself have spoken on this issue several times and she has never been more than forthright with me with what may be perceived as a conflict. She was upfront with me in my discussions with her during the past three months.

The issue is the closure of the CIBC in Fort Smith. It has been rumoured for some time. I have been in contact with the bank. They, first of all, contacted me last year, Mr. Speaker. They agreed to go into Fort Smith and hold a public meeting before making any decision and that was supposed to happen in January or February of this year. They advised me in January they were not prepared to go into the community because last time they were there they felt they were abused. There has been, I believe, two groups in there who have asked the bank to leave the community. I do not have copies of that correspondence, Mr. Speaker, but I have been advised by people in Fort Smith that there have been two groups who have asked the bank to leave. Grant Wilson from the bank phoned this morning at 8:40 am, he was in Fort Smith and was advising me they would be closing their operations in June. We have not done anything at the present time to prevent them from doing that. There is no hold of the government over that particular branch to make them stay there, however, I am still prepared to go to Fort Smith at my earliest convenience to meet with the people there to see what they would like to do. I have been advised in the past, Mr. Speaker, that there are residents in Fort Smith who believe there is another commercial bank willing to move into the community. Before I am willing to do anything I would like to visit Fort Smith and hold a public meeting and discuss with the residents what they would like to do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask a question to the Minister of Renewable Resources. The Keewatin people have expressed concern with respect to the environmental damage that may be caused by the proposed hydro development of the Great Whale River project. The honourable Members may recall, when the Minister was in Inuvik last December, he announced that $438,000 in funding had been provided through the federal environmental assessment and review process for the Sanikiluaq environmental committee and that an additional $25,000 had been provided to the Nunavut Environmental Coalition for Keewatin. This funding will enable these community organizations to prepare submissions for the review panels. I also realize that Mr. Minister had answered some questions on Tuesday, the 23, with regard to this.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to the input from these community organizations I think our territorial government should be taking a leadership in this area. Can the Minister advise the House whether or not the Government of the Northwest Territories is also planning to intervene directly in the environmental assessment process?

Mr. Allooloo.

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just for clarification, does this mean the government will be carrying out any independent research activity in order to prepare a submission for the environmental hearings?

Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the time comes to appear before the panel, we have sufficient staff that have had experience in dealing with environmental assessment panels. Also in-house we have an environmental protection section which deals with the pollutants that may come into the Northwest Territories or that may be generated within the Northwest Territories. Any research we do will be done in-house with the existing people who are doing this kind of environmental assessment. Thank you.

Item 5, Oral Questions. Supplementary, Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am sure the Minister is aware that ITC and TFN have both expressed a strong interest in this process. I am wondering what consultation will be made with the communities in the Keewatin?

Mr. Allooloo.