Do they have polar bears in Yellowknife?

Hear, hear.

The Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake is seeking unanimous consent. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Please proceed, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Dent.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, education and training are a very important part of our everyday life, not only in our jurisdiction but throughout the world. Mr. Speaker, there are employees of government and other agencies who work in different fields. Some are carpenters, plumbers, mechanics and equipment operators who want to further their education or training. The government has been able to accommodate these people up to this point in time and we appreciate that very much, Mr. Speaker.

But there are barriers for people who are unilingual in this particular jurisdiction. This morning I received a call from one of my communities; the mayor called me and told me that there is a gentleman who lives in Gjoa Haven who is an airport maintainer and wants to be able to take part in the airport maintenance training program in Baker Lake. He is very ambitious. He wants to take it because he has been working for the airport for many years. He is very confident and is, in fact, one of the better maintainers I have seen in that area. But, he's unable to go to Baker Lake because he's unilingual. He was told that the program is available and he requested an interpreter. But according to him and the information of the hamlet of Gjoa Haven, an interpreter is not going to be provided.

In this day and age, I would believe that government would provide trained interpreting and translating services, especially in the eastern Arctic where the majority of people who are potentially going to be taking training programs are unilingual

and only speak Inuktitut. At the appropriate time, I will be asking the Minister questions about this. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you. Mr. Pudluk, point of order.

Point Of Order

Mr. Speaker, I know we all have been elected by the people and have to go by the rules. Ordinary Members' statements should only be two minutes and some of the Members have no time limits. I think we should follow the rule. Thank you.

Just to clarify, I was watching the time and it was one minute, something. Members are allowed two and a half minutes and I understood the Clerk Assistant to say that he did not go beyond his two and a half minutes. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Antoine.

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Pudlat.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The statement that the Housing Minister gave was good. If there were errors in Inuktitut and there wasn't going to be anything done about it...I'm sure the majority of the people didn't understand clearly and that it was going to take effect on April 1st. But, I seem to understand that he delayed it another month. If they already received the copy of the translation,

there will have to be clarifications made to let them know that if they don't go to the housing association office, their rent would be marked up to the maximum. This will have to be corrected because we all know the English and Inuktitut copies were different. I'm sure that they will have time to make the correction if they're given another month. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this afternoon I wish to provide comments on a matter that has certainly caused considerable concern to myself and to my constituents in Fort Smith. Mr. Speaker, honourable Members of this House frequently speak about community concerns over the illegal use of alcohol and drugs in their constituency.

Mr. Speaker, I share those concerns and for some time have become increasingly troubled by the illegal activity, such as the increasing availability of illegal drugs. Mr. Speaker, on December 12, 1994, I met with two RCMP officials in my constituency office in Fort Smith for a general discussion of these concerns and the RCMP plans for addressing the increasing potential of illegal drug use. At the time, it was confirmed that from August 1993, there was a 58 per cent drop in the number of drug charges laid in Fort Smith in comparison to the previous years when the predecessor, Sergeant Gary Barnes, was the detachment commanding officer in Fort Smith. I would like at this time to commend Sergeant Gary Barnes for all his hard work and effort in addressing illegal drugs. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, he was so good he got promoted to Yellowknife.

However, Mr. Speaker, our meeting with the RCMP was very positive and several constructive solutions for proactive interventions were identified. Mr. Speaker, I was totally astounded when some four weeks later, a local news reporter indicated that he had been informed that the purpose of my meeting had been to provide the RCMP with a list of drug users and drug dealers in Fort Smith. I was even more astounded to learn that the source of this information had been the regional superintendent of Social Services.

Mr. Speaker, I want to say, in no uncertain terms, that this information was totally false. I have not compiled, disclosed or provided the RCMP with such a list. I seek unanimous consent to continue with my statement.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and honourable Members. Mr. Speaker, when I confronted the regional superintendent of Social Services personally on January 9th, he indicated that this information -- this rumour -- had been the result of a conversation that took place between himself and the sergeant of the Fort Smith RCMP detachment in the local curling rink club bar. He indicated that the sergeant had suggested that there had been some pretty prominent names included in the alleged list. This, in turn, was information that the regional superintendent had chosen to share with others in my community.

Mr. Speaker, the clear connotation was that I had manufactured a list of alleged drug dealers in order to discredit certain prominent people in Fort Smith for political purposes. Again, I unequivocally deny this untrue rumour.

Indeed, I wish to inform the House that the "G" division of the RCMP has launched and has now completed a full investigation of this matter under section 45-4 of the RCMP Act. The investigation revealed that the RCMP officer in question had informed the regional superintendent that there was no list. Later today, I will be tabling the report of this investigation.

Mr. Speaker, I am concerned about this incident on a number of levels. First, I believe that the irresponsible action of taking, fabricating and circulating this vicious rumour had the potential to place my family at some risk of harm from lawbreakers wishing to respond to this account through intimidation. In fact, during the early week of January, when this rumour was passed, my vehicle was vandalized several times and was damaged as a result of a hit and run, causing about $2,000 damage.

At the same time, Mr. Speaker, I am dismayed and disappointed that this sort of tactic once again appeared with a northern political context. The regional superintendent of Social Services has indicated to a number of Fort Smith residents that he is interested in becoming a candidate for election in Thebacha during this fall's territorial election. I wish him luck and I advised him that everyone knew that. I also indicated to him that that is democracy.

Some of my constituents have suggested to me that this incident may have been motivated by political reasons. Mr. Speaker, I believe that voters all across Canada are simply tired of election tactics that rely on character assassination. They are tired of innuendo and untruth. This sort of conduct only serves to damage public confidence in our electoral process.

My main reason, Mr. Speaker, for raising this affair today is because I am concerned -- I am deeply concerned -- about what it suggests about public service administration within our government. Perhaps, especially, in the Department of Social Services. We all know that many Members, including the Minister herself, have risen in this House to comment on problems surrounding the illegal use of drugs and alcohol in the Northwest Territories. There is a move afoot to enhance law enforcement capabilities in this area, when you take into consideration the complete reform of our liquor legislation.

Who could blame individuals who might have drug evidence from experiencing second thoughts about coming forward, when this action is likely to make them the subject of rumours and victimization. Mr. Speaker, I find this entire situation absolutely unacceptable and, unfortunately, since the Minister of Social Services is not in the House, I will give her this as notice that I intend to pursue this issue upon her return to the House.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Inspector Roberts and Sergeant Douthwright for agreeing to meet with me on this important issue in the first place. I also appreciate the prompt action taken by the RCMP "G" division to act on my report of this incident. I sincerely regret any hardship or inconvenience that may have been caused for the Sergeant of the RCMP division of Fort Smith by this investigation, which became necessary as a result of conduct displayed by the GNWT officials. For complete clarification, I would like to emphasize that the investigation found Sergeant Douthwright's actions were proper and justified and that he did not violate RCMP policy.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to say that I hope the shameful actions of a single Social Services official will not discourage concerned members of my community and from all northern communities, from working together with law enforcement agencies; working together with parents and concerned citizens; with elected officials of this House; as well as locally to make a positive impact on the drug and alcohol problems that have been plaguing the Northwest Territories for too long. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Marie-Jewell. Item 3, Members' statements. Ms. Mike.

Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. I would like to apologize for being absent when Mr. Ng made his apology about his note to me. I was at a luncheon meeting that turned out to be longer than I had expected.

However, the context of the note he sent yesterday is confirmation of what I talked about in my Member's statement yesterday. I believe Mr. Ng would never send a note to a man with the word that he used in his note to me. I sincerely hope Mr. Ng learns from this lesson. I hope the second time around, he gets what my point was yesterday in my Member's statement. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Mike. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Todd.