The Member for Nahendeh is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Conclude your statement, Mr. Antoine.

The last community I represent, Nahanni Butte, the closure dates from 1988 to 1994 respectively are March 31st, April 7th, March 30th, April 4th, March 22nd, March 27th and March 28th. As you can see here, as well in this community, the closure on March 15th will have a big effect.

On the radio report this morning, Mr. Speaker, the chief from Jean Marie River indicated that once the road closes, as they have no stores, they have to charter to Fort Simpson to buy supplies. A one-way charter is $220, so if you're going to go shopping for your family you're looking at a total of $440 round trip just to go shopping. You have 80 to 90 people in that community so you're looking at a significant impact on their budget in that community. With Trout Lake being further away, you're looking at a substantially higher plane fare. Nahanni Butte also has this problem.

Mr. Speaker, the winter road is a vital link for the residents. In particular, the month of March is the most important month for winter roads in communities because it is this month that residents make their trips to Fort Simpson and Hay River to shop one last time and save as much money as possible. If these closures go ahead on March 15th, then many residents will suffer due to the fact that they cannot afford to charter planes to shop for supplies and food. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform this House that the Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association will be holding their annual general meeting in Inuvik next week from March 6th to March 10th. The theme of their annual general meeting will be community development.

The 58 to 60 delegates will be doing their regular business and also participating in a series of workshops. One of the key focuses of their workshops is the opportunities in the fashion and clothing industry.

Pauktiitut has been very vocal and very active in women's issues, and very proactive in the area of family violence and child care. Today I want to wish all the delegates a safe journey to Inuvik. I hope that they enjoy Inuvik's hospitality and have very fruitful discussions. Mahsi.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, every day when I pick up a paper, I'm reading more terrible stories about child sexual abuse. Today in the Globe and Mail, there is a whole article about the Kingsclear report in New Brunswick where dozens of kids over a long period of time were sexually abused at a training school where homeless kids and emotionally disturbed kids were sent. The authorities, for 30 years, didn't listen to their pleas.

Here in the Northwest Territories, as we all know, child sexual abuse is a very serious problem. It has only been in the last few years that it has been getting the recognition it deserves. I'm not sure if what we're seeing reported now is the tip of the iceberg, or if the full magnitude of the problem is becoming obvious to us.

But the reality is, it is happening here in the territories at a very alarming rate. I guess one of the saddest aspects of child sexual abuse is kids who are abused tend to become abusers and the cycle continues generation after generation after generation. No healthy society in the history of the world has ever condoned child sexual abuse. Unfortunately, in the majority of cases, it is men who perpetrate these offences. To me, a man who abuses a child is not a man; he's a moral coward. No crime is more unnatural or despicable than preying on innocent, trusting children.

I think all of us have a responsibility to stand up and be counted and, as leaders, to state in no uncertain terms that we will not stand for or condone child sexual abuse in our society. There is one organization, I think, that is doing a very useful job in this area and those are the people who have put together the Kids' Help Phone line.

Mr. Speaker, if I could seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member for Yellowknife North is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Conclude your statement, Mr. Ballantyne.

Thank you. There will be a bowl-a-thon this Saturday night supporting the Kids' Help Phone line. The number is 1-800-668-6868. Mr. Morin, Mr. Dent, Mr. Whitford and myself have been collecting pledges, and I just wanted to thank the Members in the House for their generosity. I think just about every Member in the House has supported the MLAs' team at the bowl-a-thon. I would like you all to think just for a moment about what this help line means.

If these kids in New Brunswick had had a number they could have phoned, perhaps they wouldn't have lived in terror for years and years. Perhaps somebody would have reached out to help them. In Canada, we now have a phone line where kids who feel alone, feel terrified, who are abused in the dark and in secret, now have a lifeline to get out of the horrific situations they find themselves in. I think everybody in this House fully supports the objectives of the Kids' Help Phone line, and I'm sure everybody here hopes that the bowl-a-thon is a big success to raise money for this very worthwhile cause. Thank you.

---Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to commend many of the non-profit organizations in my constituency. Mr. Speaker, it has been brought to my attention that there are 24 organizations in my constituency that often request permission to hold bingos and request permission for approval of bingo licences. We all know that many of these bingos are held for good reasons and to help many different objectives that different organizations are attempting to achieve.

In my community, there are many organizations that hold TV bingos. However, there are two nights a week where bingos are held in a hall. As we all know, when bingos are held in a bingo hall many people smoke in the hall. Mr. Speaker, I know that because I occasionally go to bingos...

...and occasionally smoke.

I don't occasionally smoke, though. I don't enjoy inhaling second-hand smoke. However, I want the public to know that many of the organizations in Fort Smith are now holding smoke-free bingos.

---Applause

I commend them for that. In closing, I would like to not only commend them, but encourage other communities to take on the challenge of holding smoke-free bingos; just for the health of it. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mrs. Marie-Jewell. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a former Yellowknife city councillor, Ben MacDonald, now working for the Union of Northern Workers.

---Laughter

---Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Whitford.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the course of their duties, Ministers travel to different parts of the NWT. This gives the rest of the local MLAs a chance to raise local concerns and issues. Can the Premier advise this House of what travel has been planned for Ministers over the next month? Thank you.

Madam Premier.

Mr. Speaker, I know there are some activities the Ministers will be travelling to. I don't have the list here. During the two-week break I plan to be travelling up the Mackenzie Valley with the Power Corporation. I also intend to take part in addressing Pauktuutit. I also have to make a trip over to the Keewatin to attend a health board meeting. There are a number of other Ministers who will be travelling for different meetings. I will be able to provide that, I just don't have it in front of me at the moment.

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

I have a question for the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism. Mr. Speaker, my question is regarding the recent federal budget. My understanding is the EDA program will be curtailed this year, with a very good possibility that it will be ended in another year. What is the status of the economic development agreement with the federal government? Thank you.

Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, Mr. Todd.