Good afternoon. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Amittuq, Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Members of the Nunavut Caucus have been provided with a copy of a letter written to the federal Minister of National Defence and the federal Minister of Supply and Services from James Eetoolook, acting president of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. Madam Speaker, the letter protests the awarding of a contract to operate core campsites in 1994 to a Quebec firm rather than Avati, a subsidiary of Nunasi Corporation and the Inuvialuit Development Corporation which makes it 100 per cent Inuit owned.

Avati carried out the contract successfully last year, which was to erect, maintain and disassemble working camps for other contractors that were upgrading or constructing the new Distant Early Warning stations. Avati completed this task with a workforce made up of 82 per cent Inuit. This contract is worth several million dollars, Madam Speaker, and it is the first large contract awarded by the federal government in Nunavut since the ratification of the Nunavut land claims.

Section 24 of the land claim commits the federal government to not only include Inuit firms in the solicitization of bids, but also commits the federal government to develop, implement and maintain policies to provide support and assistance to Inuit firms to compete for government contracts. It was agreed that these policies would be in place one year from ratification of the claim which is coming up this summer. Madam Speaker, it is very disheartening that these policies to provide support to Inuit companies to compete for government contracts have been completely disregarded in the awarding of this contract. We had expected that the spirit expressed...

Sorry, Mr. Allooloo, your time has lapsed.

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. Allooloo.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Thank you, Members. We had expected that the spirit expressed during the negotiations would have been maintained. I'm extremely disappointed that the federal government has chosen to award such a major contract to an outside firm when it has been clearly demonstrated that Avati has the ability to carry out the work in a very satisfactory manner. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

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Thank you. I would like to recognize the grade six class from N. J. Macpherson school here in Yellowknife and their teacher Karen Johnson. Welcome to our Assembly.

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Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Baffin South, Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to stand today and make a Member's statement. I was invited to the annual conference of the Pauktuutit Women's Association but I have other commitments. I would like them to know that I haven't forgotten their invitation and I would like to apologize for not being able to attend their annual general meeting. I would be able to attend at some other time. I would like to apologize that I can not attend and I would like to assure them I will be able to attend at some other time.

I know that they have a lot of work to accomplish which is very important in the world of events and they work very hard on important issues and they will be able to work on those issues at this conference. At this time, Madam Speaker, I would like to apologize to them. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Whitford.

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Lewis.

Hear, hear.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Today I would like to express my concern about the fur industry. I know the Minister responsible has been to Brussels and Strasbourg and has been telling us the situation we find ourselves in as a result of leghold trap regulations from the European Parliament that we have tried to abide by.

Through research, Madam Speaker, I found out in the last four years the Government of the Northwest Territories has spent about $900,000 to buy about 70,000 quick kill traps. These traps were exchanged in the north. Further, there was about $1 million spent in workshops to train the trappers in how to use these new methods of trapping. In all, there is about $1.9 million spent to date on complying with the regulations established in Europe.

I am told there is an NWT fur strategy being developed, as a result of a study that was done last year. I just hope that instead of continuing to spend money to comply with the European Parliament regulations, this government sees fit to try to establish the fur industry in the north by developing a plan of action on how to process the furs in the north, so we can have a northern fur industry. I know our furs in the north have been sent down south to be mixed with the southern furs, which I hear are not as good quality as our northern furs. Therefore, the price of our furs has dropped to bring the price in the south up. In the long run, our trappers are losing out.

We should be focusing on doing it ourselves instead of depending solely on the European market to buy our furs. I would like to stress to the Minister to look into this area in developing an NWT fur strategy. Mahsi, Madam Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, in recent weeks I have spent a considerable amount of time thinking about the state of the correctional system in the Northwest Territories. Madam Speaker, the entire judicial process in the Northwest Territories is seen as a confusing system of conflicting European values by the majority of aboriginal people who run into trouble with it.

Madam Speaker, we, as a government, have a responsibility to tailor our programs and services to reflect the cultural identity of those it's suppose to serve. We have failed in this regard. So now, Madam Speaker, with that said, what do we do to alleviate the problems that make the situation of our correctional system culturally and morally irrelevant?

Madam Speaker, the system as it stands now is designed to incarcerate people in a facility that is usually far away from the home town of the offender. Granted, Madam Speaker, that some of the programs offered by the correctional centre, such as alcohol counselling and educational upgrading, are good programs. It nonetheless remains a fact that by the very nature of the correctional centre, it confines a person to a certain geographic area. By doing that, we provide no opportunity for the offender to make restitution to the community or to the victim. Sometimes by incarcerating a person, we create more of a hardship on their family than a long sentence accomplishes in rehabilitating.

There must be a way to split a sentence so an offender spends a certain amount of time behind bars and an equal amount of time making restitution to his victim. Maybe some sort of day parole system so that when a person is not working or making restitution to his family or victim, they are confined to house arrest.

We, as a government, must take the initiative...

I am sorry, Mr. Gargan, your time has lapsed.

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

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

Thank you, Madam Speaker, and Members. We, as a government, must take the initiative. We have to take a holistic approach for corrections in the Northwest Territories. Madam Speaker, I don't only mean corrections, the community or the individual as a whole, but the family as a whole. By continuing with band aid solutions, such as incarceration, we do little to solve the problem.

Let me give you an example. In the old days, when the elders' or women's council placed a sentence on an individual, that individual always knew that when their sentence was over, they would be accepted as a full member of the community again. Now there is no opportunity for the victims or offenders to go through this healing process. Madam Speaker, our present system does not address the concerns of those it is suppose to serve. We must take steps to change it. Mahsi cho.

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Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. I rise today, Madam Speaker, to talk about the existing classification of communities by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism. The system of classification of communities by the department was initiated in 1986 as part of the Economic Development and Tourism strategy. This classification system was used solely in relation to the business development fund policy.

In 1991, the communities were grouped into level I, level II and level III communities. In 1991, the policy was revised and the grouping of communities were made according to socio-economic indicators, such as population, per capita income, unemployment rates and the number of businesses in that community. If a business needed financial assistance from the department, they were required to contribute some form of equity. The equity requirements were determined by the community groupings. For example, residents in a level I community were required to put more money in than ones in a level III community.

When the business development fund was revised in September 1993, the requirement for grouping communities was also changed to recognize the level of existing business infrastructure in a community, and the road or transportation links into that community. This was done as a result of requests from clients and regional staff. That the policy better recognizes the potential for new economic and business development, rather than focus on the existing well-being of the community.

Under the 1993 revision, equity requirements remain linked to the community groupings, however the list of community groups was removed and instead the Minister issues instructions regarding the regrouping of communities whenever required.

Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to continue.