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

Mr. Speaker, in the eight years between 1983 and 1991 there were 111 drownings in the NWT. Most of the victims were between the ages of 15 and 24 and more than half of the tragedies were caused by careless boating practices where none of the victims were wearing life jackets. Even more sadly, the misuse of alcohol was at least part of the cause for 35 per cent, or 39 of these drownings.

Mr. Speaker, during 1993, my department will be renewing the call to the boating public to practice water safety. We will be distributing new water safety literature, hosting a territorial-wide poster contest, and training summer aquatic instructors in communities to teach the merits of safe practices on the open water.

It is important for boat owners and operators to remember that under the law, enough life jackets must be carried on board for all passengers. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are responsible for enforcing the law. The Department of Renewable Resources promotes water safety through the sport fishing guide and courses on firearm safety. With the boating season approaching I would encourage all residents to follow safe boating practices. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Allooloo. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again I would like to speak to Members about the establishment of a First Nations trust company. The need for First Nations to get involved and provide financial services to aboriginal governments and their citizens has been clearly identified. The Peace Hills Trust in southern Canada demonstrates that such an institution is possible and can be successful even in recessionary times. Federal government transfer monies provide a guaranteed source of depositors. Land claims money requires financial administration. It is only reasonable that an aboriginal institution be established to manage the investment of such monies. Development corporations which follow the settlement of land claims also require an institution for the management of their monies. An aboriginal financial institution can serve private aboriginal businesses that, at present, have difficulties with conventional banking systems.

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that an aboriginal financial institution will benefit the indigenous population. However, I should point out that it will also benefit the economy of the Northwest Territories as a whole. Such a financial institution will keep monies in the Northwest Territories and will prevent leakage to the south. A number of options for First Nations to deliver a finance service to First Nations government and their citizens were considered. A federal incorporated trust company would be the best choice. Initial development work to create a First Nations trust company in the Northwest Territories has begun. Contacts have been made to discuss a joint venture. Discussions have taken place with Indian and Northern Affairs, the territorial government and various legal businesses and accounting personnel.

The initiative to establish a federal institution has been divided into three phases. Phase one will involve identifying and organizing shareholders. In phase two we will undertake detailed planning. In phase three...

Mr. Gargan, your allotted time has elapsed.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to 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. Gargan.

Phase three will implement these plans. At the end of phase three, Mr. Speaker, the financial institution will have its doors open for business. I hope this government views these plans and actions as positive steps toward our inherent right to self-government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have raised this issue before, however, it bears repeating, Mr. Speaker. I have raised the issue, on at least two occasions, about the inadequacy of police service in the city of Yellowknife. The government is stretched and it is very difficult to come up with the resources required to provide the level of service which people expect. I should point out that things have escalated in this city to the extent that we have had seven armed robberies over the last few months. I spoke to two business people this morning, Mr. Speaker, and they tell me if they have a break-in in their premise and they phone to get help, it is just not there. This is not because the police do not want to help, but because they are so stretched on other cases they cannot immediately respond to an emergency. I think the government should look at this as a problem that has to be resolved, because many citizens in Yellowknife are becoming concerned for their own personal safety.

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had the pleasure of attending the second Nunavut business conference and trade show in Iqaluit on March 15 to 19 and I want to say what a success it was, Mr. Speaker. I was able to attend some of the very useful and informative sessions such as the one on Nunavut business which identified various business opportunities. Experienced businessmen such as Simon Merkosak, Joshua Kanguq, Kenn Harper and I participated in these sessions. Later that day, there was the launch of the Baffin handbook, which received very favourable reviews in a recent Globe & Mail article as a "must read" for visitors to Baffin. We also heard an inspiring speech from Paul Quassa at a banquet attended by over 200 people. There was a fascinating session on banking and project financing which featured senior bankers from the Toronto Dominion Bank, the Bank of Montreal, the CIBC and FBDB. Perhaps, we should have invited Mrs. Marie-Jewell to that session on northern banking. There were informative sessions on northern purchasing and other subjects.

The trade show on Saturday, March 20, was a resounding success. There were over 70 booths, including some which were shared by more than one business. About 700 people visited the trade show. Booths ranging from Northport Construction's new inverter to the latest technology in waste oil heating to producers who served fabulous food. I might mention that there were no less than 32 members of the business community from Val-d'Or, Quebec, including the mayor, who attended the conference and participated in the trade show.

So, Mr. Speaker, it was a success and I know there are plans to repeat the trade show again, perhaps in another location in Nunavut. I hope the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism will be able to attend the third annual Nunavut trade show. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to talk about the carvers in the Northwest Territories with bone, soapstone, ivory and other materials. Often times the carvers have a hard time to try to get materials to make a carving. Being a carver is very hard, and some people say the dust is not good for your health. Many items are becoming more expensive today and the carvings which are carved by the Inuit and Indian seem like they are not in demand as much as they used to be. If the carver gives the carving to a retailer or a person who buys it, they send it to another place. By the time it is to be bought by a consumer it is very expensive and the retailer makes a profit. When it goes to the retailer it gets more expensive and the carver does not get as much as he is entitled to. How can we help the carvers? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the past couple of years, since 1990, Fort Smith has been the home of the western Arctic leadership program. The western Arctic leadership program was initially started by the previous Minister of Education, the Honourable Stephen Kakfwi. The program has been in existence for the past couple of years and has been accepted as one of the most successful programs within the Department of Education, from the community viewpoint and I am sure from the viewpoint of many people in the west.

The western Arctic leadership program is a program for students, and currently they have students there from Colville Lake, Cambridge Bay, Fort Good Hope, Fort McPherson, Fort Smith, Inuvik, Norman Wells, Rae and Yellowknife. Also, Fort Providence and, I believe, Trout Lake. Many of the students come from across the north to learn many different things in this particular program. The program utilizes many different types of skills which are taught to the students. These include survival skills at a camp which they go to, firearm safety and other safety type programs. They take these camps every year, generally in the month of March. Even though on occasions camps have experienced 40 below weather, these students live under a tent in this type of weather. Not only do they survive, they seem to thrive on the experience they have gained through this particular program.

In spite of being involved in a full program, the students have two hours of study at night. The students find time to attend many meetings. I have seen them and observed, in the community, their attendance at many meetings and forums throughout the year, particularly when issues affect the Northwest Territories are discussed or at the local...

Mrs. Marie-Jewell, your allotted time has elapsed

.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my Member's statement.

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

Thank you, honourable colleagues. The leadership students fully participate in the life of the P W K High School and are members of different sporting clubs in the community, and represent the school in team and individual events.

This program has been, as I stated earlier, a very successful program. However, Mr. Speaker, they have had some difficulty in the past, particularly with regard to the amount of funding they are granted. In the past, we were pleased to give them the support of $50 through the Department of Social Services as a youth initiative program to assist them. Looking at future leadership for the Northwest Territories, I thought that was a good way to use funding.

Mr. Speaker, the western Arctic leadership program is finding somewhat of a difficulty with their current level of funding. It is a program which I give my full support to as an MLA and I give full support to the concept of the western Arctic leadership program. I certainly hope that the same type of concept would be looked at for the east. Mr. Speaker, I would encourage the Minister of Education to assist the South Slave divisional board in continuing such a successful program for northern youth. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Marie-Jewell. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a return to a question asked by Mr. Lewis on February 26, 1993, and it concerns the internal audit of Expo '92. Mr. Speaker, the audit of Expo '92 came about as a result of communications between the comptroller general and the acting deputy minister of Economic Development and Tourism.

The Audit Bureau was not directed to emphasize any one or more aspects of the Expo project; in fact, no constraints whatsoever were placed upon the bureau in scoping the audit. After a preliminary survey of the project, the Audit Bureau determined that the scope of the audit should be extensive, and should include a review of the financial projections and operating plans for the restaurant and the management process that led to them, the accuracy and the timeliness of project financial information, the adequacy of inventory records and storage controls, the arrangements for and ultimate disposition of inventories and other assets following the conclusion of the project, and the extent to which significant relevant costs have been included in financial reporting.

Departmental management concurred with this approach and the audit encompassed the agreed upon scope. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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