Thank you, Mr. Dent. Ministers' Statements is now over. Members' Statement, Ms. Groenewegen.

Thank you. Members' Statements, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform this House as a courtesy on Tuesday, October 15 and 16, I will be absent from the House to attend the Inuit Association in Gjoa Haven. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ningark. Members' Statements, Mr. Evaloarjuk.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to thank the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment for releasing ... And it is in regards to one of my constituent's requests. I do believe that they have contributed money for one of my constituents from Pond Inlet. Thank you Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Members' Statements, Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Time and again my colleagues have brought forward examples of failure by the Government to provide support and assistance at the community level,

where the bulk of residents in the NWT still live. Mr. Speaker, the community of Arctic Bay has been identifying problems with the community freezer for years. It is the last of the group of very old freezers in our region. All the others have been replaced and it has been breaking down repeatedly in the last year. I have raised this issue with the Honourable Minister of Public Works and Services. Mr. Speaker, there are central problems illustrated by this case, critical community facility, one that is essential to safe food storage of country food, has been allowed to fail. These units are originally supplied by the Government to assist the communities, then the responsibility for the units was transferred over to the community organizations. But clearly, there are no freezer technicians in any of the small communities in the NWT. Our people are still dependent on the Government staff to maintain this equipment. When this equipment started to fail repeatedly, the local technicians have tried their best to make the repairs that they can, and the group has worked with great care to maintain the freezer properly. The repairs were finally carried out and the community was presented with a bill over $24,000 and the incorrect and rudely worded suggestion that the problems were all the fault of the community people. Mr. Speaker, we all have examples of this sort of treatment of the community level by Government staff. I am particularly concerned that this way of doing business has continued for many years. I have seen in this example a model of how community empowerment could fail us all if it started without the support of the communities. Mr. Speaker, I seek for unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member for the High Arctic is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. Conclude his statement. Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the old pattern could be repeated. Set up a program and dump on the communities without the resources and training. Then blame the communities when things go wrong. Then take all the credit for cutting the deficit at the same time. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all the Members of this House to remember their own communities, their willingness to control their own future, and their request for support and resources, as we head towards the parliament of our people in the communities. Mr. Speaker, I will have some oral questions later today for the Minister of Public Works and Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Barnabas. Member's Statement, Mr. Enuaraq, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the past week and a half this House has had more debate than we have had in the first nine months of this Government. At times it has been heated. Mr. Speaker, the debates have shown the public that we are working and grappling with continued cuts and downsizing. This type of debate is healthy as long as it stays on the topic and does not get personal.

You cannot expect twenty-four people to agree on every item, or issue. Constituency concerns may take precedence over House concerns and visa versa. So be it. In some circles being consistent on every issues seems to be the utmost of importance, but being consistent on every aspect, or program, or issue, only demonstrates rigidity and the belief in the infallibility of a decision or stance.

Maybe the forward collective believes in consistency, but that does not make it right. A Member first and foremost has the legislative right to vote on any issue, any way they choose. Not voting with a majority in a consensus government style, like this House, could and sometimes does ostracize a Member.

I think it is important to remember other aspects of a Member's work in this House. Are they present for all the meetings? Do they keep up with all the committee issues? Do they ask informed questions? Are they habitually late or do they come and go from meetings as they feel like it? If a Member asks lots of questions in the House, are the questions judged on their merit, or frequency? Personally I would rather hear five questions from the same Member than one flippant question from another Member.

Over the next several months we will have more heated debate concerning the deficit reduction targets and the strategies of this Government. I look forward to this open debate and I think the public does, and needs to see this in the public forum in this House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Picco. Member's Statement, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will be speaking today about fire fighting, but that of a different nature than what Mr. Picco is referring to. Mr. Speaker, this week has been designated as a time to acknowledge the bravery and dedication of all fire fighters across the country. Mr. Speaker, in the past I have had the opportunity of serving the volunteer fire fighting crews in both Tuktoyaktuk and Arviat. Mr. Speaker, this first hand experience gives me a realistic view of the hard work and dedication that fire fighting demands. Mr. Speaker, Johnny Sewoee is the Fire Chief of my own community of Arviat. He has a voluntary crew of twenty fire fighters who may at any given time be asked to risk their lives to keep the Hamlet of Arviat safe from fire. Driving a sixteen year old fire truck, Mr. Speaker, Johnny and his crew carry out practice runs every two weeks in the winter and once a week during the summer months. This practice session ensures that the crew keeps up-to-date on modern fire fighting techniques and keeps them always prepared in case of emergency.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to the actual fire fighting practices, the firemen pay regular visits to the local schools, teach our children about fire fighting, fire safety measures. The children are taught how to escape safely from their homes if they are caught on fire, and also, if their schools should be endangered by fire.

Mr. Speaker, in my other community of Baker Lake, Mr. Titus Alooq has been the fire chief for a number of years and leads a crew of fifteen volunteer firemen. Mr. Speaker, approximately two years ago, Baker Lake experienced a major fire where two staff houses caught fire within twenty minutes of each other. With only one fire truck at their disposal, and despite the brave efforts of the crew in sub-zero temperatures, the crew were only able to salvage one of the homes.

It is because of instances like this, Mr. Speaker, and the regular time-consuming training that they do, I am proud to acknowledge all the fire fighters, especially those dedicated to voluntary crews in Arviat and Baker Lake. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude and, far too often, they are taken for granted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. O'Brien. Member's statement, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, the member from Mackenzie Delta is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement, do we have any nays? There are no nays. Conclude your statement, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you Mr. Krutko. Member's statement Mr. Ootes.

The member for Yellowknife Central is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. You have unanimous consent Mr. Ootes.

Thank you Mr. Ootes. Member's statement, Mr. Rabesca.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as you may recall a few short months ago, BHP along with a number of aboriginal groups started on a path that would provide assurance benefits and protections on areas of the environment and natural resources. The goals of course was to allow a diamond mine to operate within the NWT. A few have heard over the last day, or so, this goal is progressing towards a reality. I would like to congratulate our Grand Chief Joe Rabesca, the treaty 11 council negotiator as well as BHP for making this historical agreement, and making the next step in seeing this project reality.

This project means many benefits to our people as well as the rest of Northwest Territories. It is nice to see that glimmer of light in horizon. In these times of cutbacks and layoffs, we can really support and encourage the other negotiating group to do the best and to try to come up with a package that works for them.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Grand Chief and Council as well as BHP, as they say, diamonds are Dogribs best friends...(laughter). Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- applause