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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last October I rose in this House to make a statement on behalf of the Ordinary Members' Caucus regarding gun control. We had just met with the Honourable Allan Rock, the federal Minister of Justice, and shared with him our many concerns regarding potential gun control legislation.

The issues we raised with the Minister included: the use of firearms as tools in traditional lifestyles; the negative impact that the registration of all firearms would have in the north; the need of a large bureaucracy to support this type of registration; and, concern regarding restrictions on sales of ammunition.

Members had a positive feeling about the meeting and felt that Minister Rock listened to and understood our concerns. In concluding our statement in October, I said, Mr. Speaker, "We hope in preparing legislation the Minister will acknowledge our unique situation and provide an exemption or other mechanisms which will provide legislation which is practical, sage and realistic in the northern environment."

Well, Mr. Speaker, as we all know, the legislation tabled by Minister Rock last week did not address any of the concerns we raised with him. There is no acknowledgement in the legislation of the unique circumstances of northern people. Members are not satisfied with many aspects of the gun control legislation tabled by the federal government.

Obviously the meeting with Allan Rock was not sufficient to ensure our concerns were heard and addressed. Therefore, tomorrow I will be introducing a motion on behalf of the Ordinary Members' Caucus which should send a message to the federal government that we are not satisfied and the legislation must be changed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Hear, hear.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last February, a bomb shell was dropped when the Capital City Liaison Committee announced restrictions on development around the capital site area. What annoyed Yellowknife MLAs, Mr. Speaker, was the fact that they were blamed for the most contentious restrictions imposed for the capital area even though MLAs were not involved in any way in developing the plan.

As a result of a public outcry by stakeholders, I'm pleased to note that the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs has now taken charge and will develop a better way to build consensus on developing this plan. At a meeting between the city and the Government of the Northwest Territories in January, a list was made of the most contentious elements and it was proposed to talk to various stakeholders about them and achieve consensus by this summer. I look forward to seeing a reasonable plan for development of the capital site and hope that our new Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Ng, will give this matter his close attention. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Across the north in the past few months, there have been many long service award dinners recognizing employees of this government. In January, there was a dinner held in Inuvik to recognize long-service employees in the Inuvik region. As we all know, employees are the backbone of any organization, especially ones who demonstrate, through long service, their dedication and commitment to their job and to their employer. They provide a valuable service, not in the community or communities in which they have lived, but to northerners in general.

There are many employees in the employ of this government but I want to mention a few in particular from the Inuvik area who received long-service awards: I would especially like to mention Mary Ellen Binder and Helen Lalonde; both are teachers and both received 20 year service awards. Also, Bill English and Liz Hansen received 25-year awards. I would like to mention these four individuals in particular. They've lived in various parts of the Inuvik region and I wish to honour them today by making this statement. Mahsi.

---Applause

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I would like to talk today about how our government's budget restraint measures are going to affect our communities. We know that the government is taking steps to maintain, as healthy as possible, the financial situation. We also know that this involves spending cuts. But what we don't know, Mr. Speaker, is exactly how the government will go about this and what impact this will have in our communities.

Prior to this session, about two weeks ago, like many of my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, I spent a lot of time visiting people in the communities in my constituency. These people know that governments across the country are cutting back on programs, Mr. Speaker. They want to know how it will affect them. They want some assurance that the government will act responsibly when it comes to cutting spending. They want the government to seriously consider each of their proposed actions in terms of how it will affect communities.

Our hope for the future lies with our communities. In order to survive and flourish, our people need strong communities. We have to focus our efforts on developing strong communities; that is, communities that stand on their own and provide for their people.

Mr. Speaker, I think that this will require some thinking about how we deliver public services. I have heard this referred to as "re-thinking government." We cannot continue to rely on methods of the past. We cannot continue to build huge bureaucratic structures that are supposed to provide people in the communities with what they need. We have to think about how we can help communities to help themselves.

It isn't good enough to filter limited money through a huge bureaucracy. It isn't good enough to have people in the headquarters office telling people in communities how to run their affairs. We need to take a community development approach. We need to restructure our government and its approach to providing community service.

Mr. Speaker, our Finance Minister has delivered his budget address; next week, the federal Finance Minister will present his budget to the country. I will look forward to that and I sincerely hope that each budget will contain at least some good news that is in the form of plans for developing our communities and for restructuring the way public services are delivered. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions, Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Ballantyne on February 17, 1995. It concerned the status of the Nursing Profession Act. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in a letter to the honourable Member on February 8, 1995, I have been advised that drafting and translation of the bill is in the final stages. The government realizes the importance of this bill, to the future graduates of the nursing program, and has every intention of introducing this bill before the end of February 1995 for passage during the 7th Session of the 12th Legislative Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Whitford.

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Ballantyne.

I have a question, Mr. Speaker, to the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment. Mr. Speaker, because there seems to be a good chance that a diamond mine could open up in the next three years in the Northwest Territories with a potential for 600 or more jobs, I wonder what progress has the department made in producing a skills inventory of the North and South Slave human resources, particularly of aboriginal people, to meet this huge employment opportunity?

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Nerysoo.

Mr. Whitford recommends that I should say, yes, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I cannot say for certain whether or not we have completed the inventory. I can say to the honourable Member we had been working internally with the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, Renewable Resources and a number of other departments in trying to identify an overall position and an overall response to the whole matter of mining development: in particular, the

whole issue of responding to the matter of the diamond industry. And as a collective, hopefully we can develop an issue that is responsive to the concern that the honourable Member has raised.

Thank you. Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister is aware of the record of our government in the past, and the opportunities provided to northern people in the past have not been as positive as they should have been. So I am wondering if the Minister could give a time frame when this baseline study will be completed. Thank you.

Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I cannot give the honourable Member a specific time line. I can advise the honourable Member when the whole matter of Izok Lake was being dealt with, we developed an overall assessment of the job requirements in that particular industry and tried to match that with the potential developments that would occur and the kind of training requirements that were identified. That was intended to give us a reflection of what might be required in overall developments in that area. What we now need to do is to be more specific about the actual requirements in the industry itself and match the numbers to that along with the other requirements for training. I hope my other colleagues in our working committee will be able to identify those requirements, including government employment or job requirements, in order for us to participate in that particular development.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you. I thank the Minister for that response. It appears there will be opportunities, at least, for positions in areas other than the traditional positions that are associated with mining. For instance, in the area of security and there is a possibility for a sorting facility. I just wonder what sort of discussions have taken place with BHP in order to put together training modules in the Northwest Territories, to prepare our people for these opportunities.

Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to advise the honourable Member, we have a study that is ongoing, right now, on those particular issues, to identify those potential employment opportunities. In fact, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism and my colleague, the Honourable John Todd, is involved directly with that particular report. It also includes not only this particular region, the Yellowknife and broader North Slave area, but it includes the Kitikmeot and also includes the Keewatin, in that particular study.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The Aboriginal Custom Adoption Recognition Act was presented to this House on November 10, 1994 and I believe the act was to be administered by the Department of Health and Social Services. But the responsibility to implement the act, I believe, is with the Minister of Justice. When will this particular act be proclaimed in force?

Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

The question is taken as notice. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Pudluk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Premier. Last week, the Premier stated that the GLO positions in the communities were given notice only five days ahead of time. Did the Premier extend a certain number of days to warn the GLOs? Thank you.

Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, the GLOs were given notice of the change in their status on April 1st. We asked the GLOs to, within five days, give us an indication of whether they would be interested in continuing their employment half-time starting April 1st. I haven't got an update on how many people have responded. I know the Baffin is still a bit behind in responding. One of the questions that the GLOs asked in some of the other areas is how the work they were doing that was not related to requirements through the Executive Offices would be applied to their new job. As a result, there are three or four GLOs who will be picking up the other half time, which indicates that it will be Health and Social Services taking up the cost because, in fact, they were doing work on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Services. The five days was only to get an indication from the GLOs to see whether they were still interested in the job if it were half time starting April 1st. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Pudluk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I asked the Premier if she has extended the five days so the GLOs

would have more time to respond about whether they would stay on or not. Thank you.

Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, we indicated to the GLOs that they had more time than the five days that were originally indicated as a response time frame. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. In the past year, there has been much discussion about Supreme Court rulings which allowed drunkenness in a sexual assault case to be used as a defence. I noticed in this week's local newspaper a case in the Northwest Territories where a lawyer is going to use this ploy as a defence argument for one of his clients. In October 1994, the Minister of Justice indicated that there were ongoing discussions with all the provinces and the federal government about using the defence of intoxication. My question to the Minister of Justice is what current discussions have been held and what is the current status on this issue?

Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Given the recent news articles about a lawyer in our own backyard using the defence of intoxication in a case, is the Minister taking any steps to investigate this specific incident?

Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Justice. Over the past few weeks, there has been increasing concern in the city of Yellowknife about crime and about break and enters. I, along with other Yellowknife MLAs, have talked to the police and I know the Minister has been briefed by the police about the situation here in Yellowknife. I wonder if the Minister, in coordination with the police, is prepared to do anything on an interim basis until some of the long-term community-based justice programs come into place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

Supplementary, Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think there is a lot of support in this Legislative Assembly for community-based policing programs. I know there are pilot projects going on right now. I wonder though, it seems that the pilot projects are in smaller communities and it also seems that we need a closer partnership between the police, the territorial government and the municipal governments in the larger communities. My question to the Minister is, is he giving any thought to establishing some cooperative programs in larger tax-based municipalities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think we're all cognizant of the fact that although having more policemen will help, it's not going to ultimately be the solution to the problem. The solution to the problem is total community involvement. My question to the Minister is if the Yellowknife MLAs got together a meeting with the mayor of the city of Yellowknife, would the Minister be prepared to sit down and discuss some possible community approaches that would be taken in the city of Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier concerning the GLOs. I do realize that in the smaller communities it is the common practice of GLOs to do some Social Services work when the social worker in the community has quit or before recruitment is made. This is usually because there are no qualified human resource persons or no interested persons in the small community who are available to fill in as a casual worker. My question to the Premier is, who will do the work for Social Services when GLOs go on half time? Thank you.

Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, the issue of who does the health or the Social Service work is one that would have to be looked at and identified according to the workload and how we're going to move in continuing to provide the service. So each circumstance will be evaluated and dealt with, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With a population of less than 1,000 in a community, human resources are nearly all employed by the GNWT and by local business people; but, in a small community where the population is less than 600, it has been that GLOs do fill in for government positions at times because in the communities sometimes it takes three, four or five months to do any recruitment. I have a concern when these GLOs go on half time in the smaller communities, because they do come in as help is needed for this particular government. They have been doing some work for social services until such a time as recruitment is made. My question to the Minister is, is she aware that in the smaller communities GLOs do social service work? Thank you.

Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, yes, I am aware.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Whitford.

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, Mr. Speaker, I think the credit should go to Mr. Ballantyne. He was the individual asking the question. However, just to respond to the honourable Member -- and I believe it was part of a question that was asked also by Mr. Ballantyne, but I appreciate the honourable Member raising the matter again -- the department is developing a strategy which is planned to be completed by April 1995 which addresses the matter of the government and the people of the north maximizing northern employment in the mining industry. To be more specific, I want to advise the honourable Member that Human Resources Development Canada and the North Slave Economic Development and Tourism group are funding partners in this initiative, because they feel that it's an important component in order for us, as a government to respond and for them to identify the individuals who could participate in the mining industry.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Whitford.

Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I again appreciate the questions that are being asked. I think what was required -- and it was a point that was raised and, again, a comment made by the honourable Member for Yellowknife North, and was an issue of concern to the honourable Member who raised the question...The issue initially was that we didn't identify the jobs that were available, or the numbers of jobs that could be made available. Once that is done, we then have the ability to identify the potential training opportunities that could be made available to people in Yellowknife or the surrounding region, in the Kitikmeot or in the North Slave area. Hopefully, we can expand the information to include the Keewatin. Once we've done that, it is much easier for us than to talk to the communities to advise them of the potential and to identify the individuals for training. I think that's an important component.

I do want to say again that it's been very fortunate for us to have gone through the Izok Lake assessment because the Kitikmeot was involved. They've identified some of the issues. The Treaty 8 group has been involved. The Dogrib communities have been involved. The Honourable John Todd has been involved in discussions with the city of Yellowknife and other partners in this region, including the Chamber of Mines and the Chamber of Commerce. The consultant will be researching existing documentation consulting with stakeholders and to have a strategy, hopefully, done by April of 1995. The suggestion of an information catalogue system of potential individuals, I think, is a very good one and should be considered in the strategy.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Finance presented his budget address. It was a dynamic presentation by the Minister of Finance. In his statement, he mentioned that this government went through some difficult downsizing and streamlining and went on to say, on page 8 of his address, that in 1994-95, this government eliminated 86 person years. When I take that statement and look at the main estimates book under the schedule under viii, which shows a summary of continuing person year requirements, I note that there has only been a reduction of 52 PYs from the 1994 revised forecast to the 1995-96 main estimates. So there is a difference of 34 person years. Tonight I would like to sleep easy, rest and put my mind at ease. So can the Minister explain why this difference in person years from his statement from what the book says?

Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when we say we eliminated the jobs, that is exactly what we did. We took the jobs out of the departments or the boards and they were jobs stricken from the record. The difference between the two numbers, Mr. Speaker, is in each year, we also have forced growth. We see most of that in teachers. As our young population gets into schools, we need more teachers. So the difference between the two is the forced growth, the extra positions we had to put on to meet the needs of the boards. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

The Minister really hasn't convinced me with his arguments. Where were the majority of these reductions in PYs? I am referring to PYs because that is what the Minister said in his statement, not jobs. Where were the majority of the reductions made? Were they made at headquarters or at regional levels?

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, that gets complicated. Some of them are half positions and so on. So I will table a comprehensive document that shows the positions that were eliminated, the forced growth that took place and -- I know that Mr. Koe is an expert in numbers -- I will make sure the numbers balance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi. I have to buy a new calculator. The Minister didn't really answer my question as to whether the majority of these reductions are made at headquarters, which I assume they were. They were supposed to be made at headquarters or be transferred into regions. What was the impact on the growth in the Government of the Northwest Territories public service in Yellowknife?

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, when I table the document that I just mentioned, it will be by community. So the impact upon Yellowknife will be visible in that document. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question to the Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, when the Minister of Finance tabled his budget book, in reviewing the taxation revenue and listening to his interview this morning, he indicated that there would be no increase in taxation. But the budget book reveals an estimated increase in the forecast of revenues. When you look at the personal income tax in last year's main estimates compared to this year, you will notice an increase of 4.9 per cent; corporate taxes, 32.2 per cent; and, payroll taxes, five per cent. Can the Minister indicate if he feels, in his viewpoint, that the economy is enhanced by allowing such forecasted revenues to be reflected in this budget?

Thank you. Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday -- and forecasting is not a very good science, Mr. Speaker -- we believe there have been 1,000 jobs created this year. We are seeing a volume growth in the amount of taxation that we are receiving. That affects the personal income tax, the number of jobs in the Northwest Territories and the payroll tax. Salaries are creeping along and there is some growth in salaries. So we get a bit more of an increase in taxation in that regard.

With regard to corporate taxes, Mr. Speaker, it is very difficult to predict. Individuals living in the Northwest Territories declare tax in the NWT, personally. People working in the NWT must pay the payroll tax in the Northwest Territories. Corporations have a little bit more leeway. They can declare taxation where they can get it the lowest. As I said on the radio this morning, Newfoundland has reduced their taxation down to 14 per cent corporately. So it is difficult to really forecast exactly what is going to happen, but we believe there are going to be some increases in corporate income tax declared in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mrs. Marie-Jewell, supplementary.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can I ask the Minister to provide to this House the amounts of increases over the past two years of estimated revenues, to see whether or not they were the estimations predicted initially? Would he provide that information to the House? Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Pollard.

Yes, Mr. Speaker. I will provide the information to the House. But as I said earlier...For instance, at the last Finance Ministers' meeting, there was agreement around the table that with today's volatile economy and interest rates, the kinds of five-year forecasting people used to do is out the window. You are lucky if you can forecast for a year. I will provide the information, but it is only as good as the indicators that we have. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I asked that question because of the fact that when we initially implemented a payroll tax, the actuals and the projected revenues were $7.8 million. However, the actual revenue received by the government was to the tune of $11.8 million, when you look at the 1994-95 budget. This year, with the revenue estimated, they anticipate to receive anywhere from $12.4 million in payroll taxes. Having said that, the Minister's budget, as we all know, is presented as a deficit budget. But looking at where these revenues are going to be coming in from, it would be helpful to the Members of this House -- we all know that liquor revenues are going up, as well as goods and services revenues -- if the Department of Finance could advise their projected revenues so we may determine the cause for the increased projected amounts placed in the budget book. Thank you.

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, I will provide the information. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Ballantyne.

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier and it has to do with the referendum in Quebec. Everyone is aware that the whole issue of the referendum is heating up. Bouchard is back into the fray, and it is in the news every day. Our jurisdiction is probably the most vulnerable jurisdiction to changes in the Canadian federation. My question to the Premier is what is the GNWT strategy in dealing the referendum in Quebec on separation?

Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, we have made it very clear in the referendum talks and in response to any suggestions of change in the realignment of any boundaries that it would be totally unacceptable to the Northwest Territories. In terms of discussions we have had with other Premiers at the table, there has been a difficult discussion about how to approach the momentum that has been building in Quebec for a referendum. I know that a couple of the Premiers have decided to become a little more aggressive in making statements and being involved. However, in discussions with all the other Premiers and the Prime Minister of Canada, the basic assumption was that the action is in Quebec and we should be careful in taking our particular point of view and perhaps having that point of view turn against us because it could provide a situation where it gives more credence to the issue of sovereignty for Quebec.

The Ottawa office continues to monitor the situation and the government is kept informed on the various initiatives that have been taken by other provincial jurisdictions. As well, the Prime Minister's office is attempting to keep us in tune. We've offered, as a jurisdiction, to be involved but up to this point in time, there hasn't been an indication of what would be most helpful in this situation, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Ballantyne.

I think it's a very important problem for the Northwest Territories. My question to the Premier is has our government looked at what the ramifications would be for the Northwest Territories if, for instance, the people in Quebec decided that they would separate?

Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, the work that our Ottawa office is doing is trying to identify some of the areas that would be of major importance to us if and when the referendum takes place. I believe that it is everyone's firm opinion, whether it be British Columbia, Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, that the significant ramifications on how each jurisdiction is treated financially has not been looked at. I know that there is an intergovernmental committee at the Premiers' level looking at some of the effects of taking the provincial jurisdiction of Quebec out of the tax base on the rest of the country.

As the Member knows, and anyone else who is listening to statements being made, it is not quite clear what the intent of the province of Quebec is in terms of their obligations to the overall Canadian debt situation. We know that they have suggested that they would pay the interest, which got some chuckles. Most jurisdictions feel that this should be handled properly without undue excitement. We should not be putting ourselves in a situation where we are further promoting sovereignty. That seems to be the major concern.

The assessments we are making as a Northwest Territories jurisdiction include the implications of the Makivik offshore negotiations or Quebec-federal government negotiations could have on Northwest Territories boundaries arising from Quebec's claim to lands and waters in the Hudson Bay, James Bay, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay region. This issue is of continued interest to the Northwest Territories, and our people are monitoring this issue as well as the disruptive implications of the Quebec separation movement for the Northwest Territories resupply operations, cost escalations and possible alternative resupply options.

Another issue is the implications which a national unity crisis would have on the division of the territories and the establishment of Nunavut in terms of delay and fiscal pressures. We feel that there will be consequences of Quebec separation for aboriginal people in Quebec and possible issues relating to the efforts by Inuit of northern Quebec to seek inclusion in the Nunavut territory.

Mr. Speaker, as you can see, there are implications to the well-being of the Northwest Territories. We try, as much as possible, to use our offices in Ottawa to keep ahead of the situation so that, if and when the situation becomes more real, we can have a respectable response. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you. I take it from that rather long answer that the government doesn't really know what the impact would be on the Northwest Territories. Because 85 per cent of our funding comes from Ottawa, it seems to me that we are the most dependent jurisdiction in the united Canadian federation of any jurisdiction and easily the most vulnerable. The other side of the equation is if the referendum of Quebec turns out so that Quebec stays in and there will be a new round of constitutional discussions. For those people who didn't support Charlottetown or Meech Lake, the end result is that we have absolutely no or very little constitutional protection in the existing constitution of Canada. What will be the government's strategy if, in fact, the result of the referendum is that the people of Quebec decide to stay in confederation? How will we get involved in the next round of constitutional discussions?

Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories government and the residents of the Northwest Territories have a large, vast constituency that, in itself, provides that it is well managed. A positive look at how we could be more self-sufficient, probably would be a far more positive way of dealing with the situation. Dependency on other jurisdictions or other matters from the provincial jurisdictions, whether there is separation, whether there is not,

whether there may be another constitutional round really are just questions that are looming over the horizon. We can only second-guess what they would be, and we can only second-guess some possible strategy to a theoretical question. But we realize that they are there, we take it seriously, but in the meantime, I believe our situation is one where we have an opportunity to gain much more self-sufficiency in the wise use of our resources that we have here in the Northwest Territories and in managing them well. There have been a number of claim settlements that could be well supported in trying to get some movement for the residents of the Northwest Territories in terms of jobs and business opportunities.

So I guess when such a question has been posed to me, it's difficult to answer in a very simple way because there are a lot of issues in the national, global context that can go either way and I would think that we will be involved in any future constitutional discussions. We've been assured of that, if there should be one.

Certainly, in terms of the financial arrangements that we have with Canada, with the Prime Minister, he realizes the particular situation with us. Once the budget comes down, we will be having another series of meetings on how we can cooperatively make sure that if there are going to be cuts or squeezes, that we play a part on how that is done, whether it's a federal operation in the Northwest Territories or a territorial one.

So, Mr. Speaker, I don't want to be evasive or try to put it off and not answer the question, but I do not believe that we will not be included in whatever there is or whatever situation we find ourselves in. Certainly, self-sufficiency is a most important goal to achieve and, secondly, if all goes according to the best scenario, Canada stays together. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Ballantyne.

Final supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was just trying to illustrate the vulnerability of the Northwest Territories and our overdependence on Ottawa. My question to the Premier is, would the Premier acknowledge the fact that we are very, very dependent on Ottawa, we are very, very vulnerable to events nationally and internationally, and that if we don't start to become more self-sufficient and develop our own resources we're going to have major problems here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Was that a question or more of a comment? Madam Premier.

It was a ministerial statement.