Good afternoon. I would like to welcome a visitor in the gallery, Mr. Peter Ernerk, a former colleague and MLA.

---Applause

Item 2, Ministers' statements. Was my microphone on when I made the last statement?

No.

I would like to advise the House I have received the following communication from his honour, the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. "Dear Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise I recommend to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories the passage of Bill 20, Loan Authorization Act, 1993-94 during the Third Session of the 12th Legislative Assembly. Yours truly, D.L. Norris, Commissioner."

---Applause

Now that we have everything on the record we will go on to item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Pudluk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak briefly regarding Nunavut. I am very happy Nunavut is progressing well. I would like to congratulate the president and the board on their recent election to the Nunavut government. I am sure they will have a great deal of work to do. We received the results this morning of the newly elected president and board. I would like to congratulate the president of TFN, Paul Quassa. I would also like to congratulate the vice president, James Eetoolook. James and Paul have been working very hard to create Nunavut. I am very happy those two individuals won the election and I congratulate them. I would also like to congratulate the second vice president, Raymond Ningeocheak, who has been put back on the TFN board. Those three individuals have worked very hard for the creation of Nunavut. We can see that they have been re-elected and that everyone has supported them by voting for them. Because of those individuals and their hard work...

Mr. Pudluk, your allotted time has elapsed.

(Translation) Mr. Speaker, I would like to seek unanimous consent to conclude.

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

(Translation) Thank you, Members and Mr. Speaker. The secretary-treasurer of the TFN board is Bernadette Makpah. We all know this individual and she is a very good candidate for the position. She has worked very hard. Once again, I would like to congratulate the new TFN president and the board. I am looking forward to working with them. The MLAs will be meeting them shortly. We will work with them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Pudluk, the dean of the House, has made a statement. I would like to make a statement on behalf of the Nunavut caucus to congratulate the following members of the executive council of Nunavut Tungavik who were elected yesterday, Mr. Paul Quassa, president, Mr. James Eetoolook, first vice president, Mr. Raymond Ningeocheak, second vice president, and Ms. Bernadette Makpah, secretary-treasurer. These results ensure that persons from all the regions of Nunavut are represented on the executive. I am sure all Members will join me in wishing the new Nunavut Tungavik executive every success and also in thanking all of the other 45 candidates who put their names forward for these positions. The Nunavut caucus will be seeking a meeting with the new executive at the earliest opportunity in order to discuss how we may continue working together towards a successful implementation of the Inuit land claim and Nunavut. Thank you.

---Applause

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Zoe. Item 3, Member's statements. Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to comment on the failure of the federal government to apologize for an incident which occurred during the Canadian Armed Forces exercise known as project Nordic Reliance. Mr. Speaker, honourable Members will recall a group of armed forces personnel, engaged in so-called survival training, came onto traditional hunting grounds within the Northwest Territories and slaughtered a number of caribou. They had not obtained proper licenses or approval. There was much evidence that they had used automatic weapons and assault style ammunition. They killed our caribou cruelly and illegally.

Mr. Speaker, aboriginal northerners have a special relationship with the animals and our land. They have nurtured the land for thousands of years and in return we value them and keep them safe. That is why the Creator put them on this earth and that is also why we are here. It offends our values and spiritual beliefs when we see such careless and unnecessary slaughter. It is an offence against what we believe in.

Unfortunately, the justice system which has been imposed upon us does not recognize the significance of that offence. In this case, Judge Bourassa gave each of the federal poachers a very light slap on the wrist when they pleaded guilty in territorial court. The federal Minister, the Honourable Kim Campbell, apparently does not understand the seriousness of the action committed by these representatives of the Canadian Armed Forces.

I was quite annoyed yesterday to learn that even though the Premier has written letters and met with the federal Minister, there has been no formal response from the Department of National Defence or the Canadian Armed Forces.

We should continue to pursue this matter, Mr. Speaker, and I accept nothing short of a complete and formal apology from Ms. Campbell and the regimental commander involved. I urge the Premier to take a forceful stand in her dealings with the federal government on this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have spoken before in this Legislature about the very successful young offenders' wilderness program which operated for several years at Mingotuq, near Iqaluit, before it was closed by the Department of Social Services.

I am pleased to inform the House that a new company, owned by Inuit, is being formed, called Atamie Family Enterprises, which proposes to re-establish this very successful program under the leadership of Lucassie and Inookie Nowdluk, camp leaders at Mingotuq.

Lucassie, Inookie and their nephew, Adamie Itorcheak, have put a great deal of effort into planning the re-establishment of this program. The prime objective will be to instill renewed interested and self-confidence in young people whose situations with their families in communities has lead to deviant behaviour. They believe the best place to start this rehabilitation is back on the land in a community setting which has not been destroyed by town living. They propose to put the young people in touch with basic life-skills which their grandparents most likely needed when they camped on the land in spring and summer. They aim to slowly increase their sense of responsibility and feeling of confidence in their own ability to provide and hunt for the camp and neighbouring family. They plan on using a whole family approach to authority so they will experience the subtle traditional chain of command which has likely been missing for some time. Under supervision they will come to understand all aspects of camp life. Each component of traditional life will be explained and demonstrated including hunting, igloo building, fishing, trapping and dog team handling. Each member of the staff has a life time of experience with dogs, machines and maintenance, snowmobile repair, boat handling, hunter safety and first aid. The young people will also acquire new skills in such areas as carpentry and plumbing through regular maintenance of the camp's facilities and contribute to their own safety and well-being by maintaining and improving the camp's aircraft runway, et cetera. It is hoped that as their levels of responsibilities increase the resident young offenders in the camp will realize they are the authors of their own opportunities and their own limitations.

Mr. Speaker, I would 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. Patterson.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Justice has just received a proposal from the new enterprise. They are proposing to offer the camp program as an option to supplement the in-town institutional programs for young offenders offered at Ullivik and Isumaqsunngittukkuvik open and closed young offender facilities.

I am hopeful, Mr. Speaker, with the assistance of the Minister and his officials that reallocation of existing resources now spent on in-town institutional programs can result in this very worthwhile program being started up again as early as this coming fall. Qujannamiik.

---Applause

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you, Mr. Dent and myself were accosted last night by a grizzled prospector with that strange glint in his eye that often exists among those people who search for gold and diamonds. When a local person seeks out people who have a voice, they expect that voice to be expressed. We heard some concerns. If, over the next year, someone suddenly appears off the tundra having found three diamonds, three in a sense that they are floating there in the debris, that would set off a kind of movement and every drifter around the world would suddenly arrive in Yellowknife, expecting to become very rich.

This sounds a little far out and far-fetched until you think about it, because that was exactly the problem that existed in the Yukon during the gold rush. People from all over the world suddenly appeared and went into the wilderness and many of them never came back. We have such a problem with adventurers who come here, get lost and cost this government a great deal of money.

My suggestion to the government, on behalf of this grizzled prospector, is that we should do some thinking about what could happen and what kinds of requirements prospectors should have before they venture out into a very inhospitable

and difficult place for the tenderfoot to survive for any length of time. Thank you.

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Koe.

Mahsi. I rise today to speak about the development of justice committees and corrections in the Delta communities. The Gwich'in Tribal Council, which includes the communities of Arctic Red River, Aklavik, Fort McPherson and Inuvik, has submitted a proposal to develop community-based justice systems. These justice committees will, over the next three years, assume the role as advisors, councillors and sometimes social workers. Specifically, some of the duties which these committees may take on are: pre-sentencing and predisposition reports; recommendations on sentencing including diversion from the court systems; and, assisting the development of correction and incarceration methods including, but not limited to, on-the-land programs. The committees will try to seek a reconciliation of the offender with the community by making the community aware of the offender's problem, but not just limited to the crime that was committed.

To reconcile the offender's problem, offenders, victims and various community organizations must be involved prior to court proceedings. During court, the justice committee's presence will assist the judge or justice of the peace in dispensing justice in a manner that is suited to the circumstances, environment and customs of the individual and the community. If alternative methods of incarceration are ordered by the courts, the committee can also seek to organize and ensure that the offender receives proper care and counselling to ensure that a healing process starts.

The proposal submitted by the Gwich'in is a progressive one and, if implemented, will begin the process of healing the communities rather than ignoring the troubles within a community. This government has provided support for the community-based justice system by providing funding and staff assistance and by hiring personnel to assist in the development of the committee. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.