Thank you, Ms. Thompson. Orders of the Day. Ms. Thompson, your point of privilege.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to stand on a point of privilege. During question period I mistakenly indicated to Mr. Steen that I had not used the words, "some communities are not educated". In reviewing the Hansard this morning I realized that on page 2017 I did use the words, "communities might not be educated".

I apologize to Mr. Steen and thank him for bringing this matter to my attention. Mr. Speaker, Inuktitut is my first language and in my mind I was talking about training. Training and education are the same words in Inuktitut. As Minister of MACA it is my responsibility to work with communities to ensure they are properly trained to carry on their responsibilities. I take this role very seriously and will work hard to ensure communities get the training they need to be successful. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Thompson. You do not have a Point of Privilege but I am sure the Minister appreciates your statement. Ministers' Statements, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There have been a number of questions in the House this week regarding the possibility of amalgamation of the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, Public Works and Services and the Department of Transportation. As Members will recall, this is not a new idea.

Last spring, the Standing Committee on Social Programs discussed the possibility of combining organizations such as the Housing Corporation and the Department of Public Works and Services to create one department responsible for infrastructure management.

This potential amalgamation supports that idea, and takes it one step further.

The Housing Corporation and the Departments of Transportation and Public Works and Services all design, build, and maintain community infrastructure. Unfortunately, as separate departments, these organizations often fail to take advantage of the economics of the scale that are possible through pooled resources and coordinated planning. As well, communities are often confused when they have to deal with three major contracting organizations. This amalgamation would directly address both of these issues, and would in fact, result in additional benefits as well.

Mr. Speaker, creating one department to manage our infrastructure is another step in fulfilling the 13th Assembly's priority to develop a more effective and efficient government structure. It is also positive and necessary to move in support of Community Empowerment and Division.

Mr. Speaker, to put this in perspective, I would like to provide Members with a bit of history. In 1991 the Government had twenty departments. Recognizing a change was needed, the 12th Assembly began redesigning and restructuring government, and in the process, reorganized the Departments of Public Works and Government Services; Education, Culture and Employment; and Health and Social Services.

When this Assembly took office last fall, we all made a commitment to continue the process in order to help secure our financial future, and to best prepare for division. Our first step resulted in the creation of the Department of Resource, Wildlife and Economic Development. Our next step, we undertook the dismantling of the Department of Safety and Public Services, transferring the responsibilities to other government departments.

The consolidation of our infrastructure departments will complete the process of organizational reform which began in 1991. By 1997, the core structure of the Government will have been reduced from twenty to nine departments.

As a result, a great deal of overlap and duplication will be eliminated, and the majority of our funding will be devoted to fulfilling our mandate, of delivering programs and services to the public.

Mr. Speaker, Members asked questions earlier this week regarding timeframe for the amalgamation of our infrastructure departments. I would like to stress to all Members that we are in the very early stages of this process. Cabinet has asked for a workplan outlining the overall process for the potential amalgamation for review at the end of October. After the workplan is presented and discussed at Cabinet, we will be moving it forward for discussion and review by the Standing Committee on Government Operations. Following that, we will be tabling a paper in the Legislative Assembly some time in November to allow for public debate.

Until the work plan is complete we cannot give a specific time for amalgamation or any stage of the process .. but I will say, based on the time frame of this Government, that our hope is to successfully complete this process in the spring of 1997.

Mr. Speaker, Members have also voiced concerns about the process that we will be following reviewing the amalgamation proposal, and ask about the opportunity for input and public debate. The work plan that is expected to come before Cabinet will include a strategy for thorough consultation with all stakeholders, both in the private sector and the Government.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, it will include a more specific plan on how we will seek Members' input and how we will communicate with them throughout this process.

As this amalgamation overlaps on three different ministerial portfolios, I have asked the Honourable Goo Arlooktoo to be the lead Minister for this project. Mr. Arlooktoo will make every effort to bring issues to the attention of the Members through the Standing Committee on Government Operations. He will also ensure, where possible, that the amalgamation process will be conducted in the open, and communication to Members and the Departments involved will be a priority.

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to discussing this amalgamation, I would like to stress one thing to all Members of this House. While it is important to discuss the proposed move in the open, we must be aware of the sensitivities involved, particularly when it comes to employees working in the three existing Departments. While the Government will make every attempt to minimize lay offs in the amalgamation process, we must be sensitive to what we say in our public discussions. I believe we should, as with any other topic, focus on the benefits for all parties involved.

Members must remember the issues facing this Government, the goals we have set for ourselves, and the benefits that will be achieved with this amalgamation. And more importantly, we must all remember that we are doing this not for short-term gain or on a whim -- but rather to help build a foundation for the future of the North. Thank you Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you Mr. Morin. Ministers' Statements, Ms. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my Minister's Statement today is on the subject of community empowerment. Later on today I will be tabling an overview of the community empowerment initiative. I hope that this information will provide us with a basis for the discussion we need to have on this important subject. Mr. Speaker, the concept of community empowerment is not new. In the last Legislative Assembly, ordinary Members and Cabinet alike endorsed a community wellness strategy. Community empowerment is also a priority of this Cabinet and a key feature of the agenda for change. Mr. Speaker, most Members in this House are already familiar with the material I am tabling today. It is the basic presentation that we have using at meetings with the Standing Committees and regional leadership summits over the summer. The document is meant to get the discussion going. It does not represent approved Cabinet direction. It is not carved in stone. It does represent the thinking and ideas that have been developed to date. Mr. Speaker, at the community level, and at regional leadership meetings we have found positive support for community empowerment. Community leaders know that they are very limited in the decisions they are currently allowed to make. These are difficult times for any level of Government, but community governments are experiencing a great deal of frustration with our current system. The community empowerment initiative outlines a new way of doing business. It describes new roles for community governments and yes, that also means changes for Cabinet and for ordinary Members. For many years, Members of the Legislative Assembly had the burden of responsibility for delivering capital projects to their communities. That system worked well when we had a fully funded capital plan. Now that capital budgets are being cut, we are all finding that the old system does not works as well.

I think it is fair to say that we are all frustrated with the current system, but I believe community leaders are the most frustrated of all.

Community leaders are trying to make responsible decisions with diminishing resources. Yet they see the Legislative Assembly is not ready to give them any flexibility to set to their own priorities. We have to decided how much power we are willing to give up so that community governments can truly be responsible for their residents and for their future.

How much flexibility are we willing to give communities? We need to let communities know whether we believe they can be responsible decision-makers, or whether their decisions will be revisited by this House. This week it was Fort Simpson that needed flexibility, but next time it could be one of your constituents. What are we going to do if other communities come forward asking for the flexibility to use their limited capital dollars in a way that makes more sense to them? Are we going to say no because we know better?

Mr. Speaker, many MLA's attended the regional leadership meetings held over the past few months. Others were present at standing committee meetings when presentations on community empowerment were given.

I have received letters from the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Infrastructure telling me the initiative should be put on hold.

Shame, shame.

I have received a letter from the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Social Programs telling me that initiative should not be put on hold.

Bravo! Bravo!

So I welcome this opportunity to get the issues out on the floor of the House where the communities can hear the concerns that Ordinary Members have about community empowerment.

Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I believe that communities in the NWT are ahead of their territorial politicians in this matter.

Communities have been asking for more authority and more control for years. But I want to emphasize that with authority and control, come accountability.

I was pleased with the recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Government Operations with respect to asking the Auditor General of Canada to undertake a comprehensive audit of my Department. Mr. Speaker, I welcome the recommendation. The recommendations of the Auditor General will help MACA improve its capacity to monitor municipal finances, and as such will be very helpful. I appreciate the Standing Committee's attention to this important part of the empowerment initiative.

Mr. Speaker, I would like this house to know that the government is not giving everything away. The work we have done to date has focused on working through the many complex issues around the empowerment initiative. This work has involved almost every department in our government. There has been a tremendous effort to identify and analyze issues and develop options for the initiative. The main parts of this work includes:

1. A clear definition of territorial interests and community opportunities. As government gets smaller and our resources shrink, we have to put our efforts into territorial-wide areas of responsibility. We have to get out of areas of decision-making that could effectively be handled by local governments.

Hear, hear.

2. Community planning - a community planning process has been developed for NWT communities and a staff training program has been planned. Communities need to plan for their futures and these tools enable them to do so.

3. Assessments - as communities take on more responsibility, it will be very important to make sure they have the skills and expertise they need to be successful. A major part of assessments involves determining the training needs of the community. We want to make sure that local people get the skills and training they need to take on this challenge. Again, all training departments and colleges have participated in this work.

4. Accountability - options for block funding are being researched and developed. Monitoring and evaluation are also key elements of the accountability framework.

I would also like the members to know that my Department has been consulting with the office of the Auditor General of Canada since spring. My Deputy Minister initiated discussions with the auditor generals office and requested "real time" advice on the development of the Community Empowerment Initiative.

Staff from the Auditor General's office reviewed the various components of the initiative over the summer, not just with MACA but also with the Financial Management Board Secretariat and other departments involved in developing the initiative. We are expecting to receive the result of the Auditor General's review soon, and I will provide Members with a copy of his comments and observations.

Mr. Speaker, I will also be tabling motions from the Baffin Leadership summit and the Keewatin Leadership meetings. These motions express support for community empowerment.

Hear, hear!

Mr. Speaker, I have heard several Members say that they support community empowerment in principle, but that they have concerns about how it will be implemented.

To these Members, I would like to say that your concerns are valid, and I hope that through our discussions, we can resolve them. But I also urge members to let go of the old way of doing business in government, and have more faith in the communities.

Hear, hear!

We need to reduce dependency on government and increase local authority and autonomy. We can not do that if all the important community decisions are made on the floor of this House.

Hear, hear!

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to discussing the Community Empowerment Initiative in this House. My cabinet colleagues and I are sincere in our belief that communities can handle more responsibility. We believe that community leaders are capable of deciding their priorities and that they can, and should, take control of their future. I hope that Members agree, and that we move forward with community empowerment quickly.

Our communities are counting on us. Thank you Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you Ms. Thompson. Ministers' Statements, Mr. Ng.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services has launched an extensive public awareness campaign designed to promote community wellness planning and individual responsibility.

The campaign includes public service announcements that describe community wellness successes. These will air shortly on CBC television.

As well, the Department is developing a wellness campaign for school-aged children which includes comic and colouring books, contests and lunch bags to encourage healthy choices.

The Department has a 1-800 number for residents to receive information on community wellness planning and projects. Mr. Speaker, the Department has also distributed planning guidelines on HIV/AIDS prevention and it leading workshops on how to help communities deal with this threat to their health and well-being. The Department is actively working with communities on suicide prevention through information, support and workshops.

We hope all of these strategies will help people become more aware of how they can make health choices individually and as communities.

I am informing Members about our awareness campaign and ask all Members to join us in promoting healthy choices. Thank you Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you Mr. Ng. Ministers' Statements, Mr. Dent.

The Minister Responsible for Education, Culture and Employment is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his Minister's Statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays, conclude your statement Mr. Minister.