Thank you. Item 4, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. (Translation) I will be saying this in my own language. This week is Alcohol and Drug Awareness Week. People all over the NWT will be doing things to bring attention to the problems or the cause of alcohol and drug abuse. There are many problems that go along with this addiction. Many people have become aware of alcohol and drug addiction in so many different ways. Many people know they have a problem with alcohol and drugs, but are unable to stop. There are people who have stopped using alcohol and drugs.

Some people are trained now in the north to help people with addictions. Centres have now been built by the government to house programs on alcohol and drug addictions. I know a lot of people have gone for treatment. Still, there is a need...(Translation ends)

...died from alcohol abuse by drinking gas line anti-freeze. Just recently, three more people died in the community of Sachs Harbour from drinking ethyl alcohol. These are people who should be aware of the dangers of the abuse of alcohol. Yet, in this day and age, we still have it. So, this awareness week is a good week to bring these types of problems to the attention of our people.

Last summer, the Deh Cho First Nations declared the year to be dedicated to community healing. The leaders of Deh Cho realized and recognized that healing is necessary to have strong communities. We need strong communities to deal collectively with the challenges we have before us in the north.

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

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

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. The division of the Northwest Territories into Nunavut and the western Arctic requires all of us in the communities to be strong people. The development of a constitution in the west -- which I still call Denendeh -- requires that each community develop holistically so as to be in control of their own lives.

The Deputy Commissioner today stated very eloquently in her throne speech, "to help restore human values, dignity and a sense of community wellness." This is exactly what leaders in the Deh Cho had in mind when they spent the whole week talking about healing in the communities. We are all aware that the problems of alcohol and drugs cause a lot of problems in our communities. We all realize we have to work together to try to deal with this problem.

(Translation) Today, what I want to say is that there is going to be one week set aside to really think about the effects of drug and alcohol abuse. It is good to talk about it and get involved in the recognition of this week. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 4, Members' statements. Honourable Member for Tu Nedhe.

Madam Speaker, I request unanimous consent to return to Ministers' statements.

The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to return to Ministers' statements. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Please proceed, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Later on today, the new social housing rent scale will be tabled. The new rent scale has been designed to help the people in communities who need social housing the most. Low income families will see their rents lowered or stay the same. A total of 30 per cent of tenants in social housing will see their rents increase. These 30 per cent are the higher income tenants who can afford to own their own home. We simply cannot afford to subsidize these high income tenants at the level we are now.

The existing rent scale charges are very low maximum rents in the so-called non-home ownership communities. This means that people with incomes high enough to afford home ownership have no incentive to move. This contributes to overcrowding and the housing shortage which is so severe in many communities.

That being said, Madam Speaker, a new rent scale is long overdue. Over the years, in many reports and consultation meetings, tenants, community leaders and MLAs have urged that the rent scale be changed. In the recent district consultation meetings held across the NWT, many suggestions were made for changing the rent scale and we have included those suggestions wherever possible. The Special Committee on Social Housing and all MLAs have voiced concerns and suggested changes. The rent scale tabled today addresses many of these concerns.

The new rent scale will be applied in the same way in every community, Madam Speaker, and will treat all tenants fairly and equally, regardless of where they live. All rents will remain affordable. All tenants will pay less than 30 per cent of their household income for rent. There will be no across-the-board increases in rent. In fact, most tenants will pay less rent. High income tenants will be encouraged to become home owners. This will free up much needed social housing for low income families who need to get a house. Education and employment will be encouraged.

Madam Speaker, the new rent scale recognizes the high cost of living in remote communities and there will also be deductions for units in poor condition. Implementation of the new rent scale will be gradual. Major rent increases will be phased in over the next four years. The first increases and all decreases will take effect April 1, 1995.

Madam Speaker, housing is in great demand in our communities. We must keep our social housing program for lower income families and ask our higher income families to move to home ownership. I believe the new rent scale is fair to all tenants. I appreciate the input of tenants, local housing organizations, the Advisory Committee on Social Housing, MLAs and the public in the development of the new rent scale. Mahsi cho, Madam Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 3, Ministers' statements. Item 4, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Baffin Central, Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise today on behalf of my constituents to especially thank Mr. Ludy Pudluk for his hard work during the last 19 years as the Member for High Arctic.

---Applause Madam Speaker, in my first year as a trainee interpreter back in 1978, I remember Mr. Pudluk did not speak English. Today, he often rises in this House to make Members' statements or ask questions in English. In his Member's statement about David Hamilton, he is correct in saying that he has grown older and perhaps more wise. In the early part of the interpreters' career he used to make us very nervous every time he stood up to talk in Inuktitut as a lot of us were not experienced interpreters from Inuktitut to English.

Later on today, Madam Speaker, I will be tabling a newspaper clipping dated January 1979, with a picture of Mr. Pudluk with a lot more hair on him. The title of the article says "Government to Study Eastern Arctic Fishing Industry." It is because of his consistency on this issue that I think my constituents have been able to earn wages from the fishery. Thank you.

---Applause

Item 4, Members' statements. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I would like to first of all thank you for inviting an elder from the Hay River Reserve who was unable to come, Mr. Daniel Sonfrere. In the gallery today is the chief of Fort Providence, Mr. Greg Nyuli. Greg has been the chief now for about two years.

---Applause

He's also, since 1921, the only chief who is single.

---Laughter

Thank you. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Whitford.

Thank you. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Aivilik, Mr. Arvaluk.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. In the absence of the Minister responsible for Renewable Resources, I would like to address my question to the Premier. She then, of course, may delegate it to the appropriate Minister responsible for Renewable Resources today. There is a strong and serious conservation issue on Southampton Island. The Department of Renewable Resources has advised the local hunters that if there is not a major culling of the caribou herd, the herd will die off from lack of food. Local hunters are prepared to cull the herd. Experienced hunters know that the best time of the year to cull the herd is in the fall. Why is the government waiting until April to bring the portable abattoir to Southampton Island?

Thank you. Madam Premier.

Madam Speaker, I'll take the question as notice. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Baffin South, Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am going to ask the devolution commission since the hamlet are acquiring community transfers of social services in Cape Dorset...I know that they are very pleased with the fact that they have acquired these responsibilities. Maybe he knows that the hamlet of Cape Dorset has already acquired four departmental responsibilities. I would like to know if he knows how well they have done so far. Thank you.

Thank you. Minister responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik, Mr. Koe.