Thank you, Mr. Roland. Members' statements. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As this the last session of this year 1996, I would also like to take this opportunity to wish all the peoples of the Northwest Territories, the residents of Yellowknife and the members of this House a very special and happy Christmas. I would also like to take the opportunity to reassure my wife and family that I will be spending a lot of time at home over the Christmas season.

Mr. Speaker, as we know, the festive season is a time for families to come together. It is also a time for friends to visit friends, and spend extra time with them, at this time of the year. I had some discussions with the finance minister, and he informed me that he has not really made a lot of friends this year. So, he may have a little extra time over the holiday season, that the rest of us will not have. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to wish yourself, and all the staff of this Legislative Assembly and the government of the Northwest Territories, who have put a phenomenal amount of work and dedication into the past year, I would like to, on behalf of the members of this House, ensure them that they are appreciated. We wish them, and their families, a very happy and holy Christmas. Amen.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Henry. Members' statements. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Members' statements. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you. Members' statements. Are there are any further members' statements? Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to make my statement on a more serious matter. It is in relation to what the honourable member from the Fort Rae area had talked about, which is education. Mr. Speaker, the Premier, in his speech the other day, indicated that we should focus on three core priorities. Two of those were to improve economic conditions and to address social conditions.

Those are, I believe, directly related to the education levels of Northerners. For years, the Legislative Assembly has stressed the need for education for all northern residents. We made several movements in that area, including adopting a small school secondary program, implementing a new education act, and dramatically expanding the roles of Aurora and Nunavut Arctic College.

In 1996, there was a snapshot done of the western NWT labour market, which showed having more education increases the chance of getting a job. It showed that 29 percent of those, with less than grade 9, have a job. Only 29 percent. At the same time, it showed that if you have a university degree, you are almost guaranteed to have a job. Those were at a 91 percent level. Those numbers may have changed a little since then.

Mr. Speaker, I request unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The member from Yellowknife North is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Erasmus, you have unanimous consent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, as I said, those may have changed a little, because of the fact that we have amalgamated and soon. Because, in the previous study, it was shown that people with a university degree had a 95 percent opportunity of having a job.

Another study, that was done recently, was by Aurora College. In their corporate plan from 1995 to the year 2000, it showed a clear link between education, employment opportunities and pay levels. Mr. Speaker, that report indicates that if you have grade 8 or less, you only have a 33 percent chance of getting a job. And you would be working for an average pay of less than $14,000.00. If you had grade 9 to grade 11, you had a 50/50 chance of getting a job. And you would work for an average pay of $21,000.00.

If you had a university degree, as I said earlier, you would have a 91 percent chance of getting a job. You would be working for an average pay of close to $50,000.00. There is a huge disparity there, Mr. Speaker.

Now another source, that I looked at, is the Canadian Fact Book on Poverty. You would have to remember that your job, and your education, are directly related to the amount of money you make. So if you make more money, you have a good education. If you have a poor education, you make less money. Less money, of course, is related to poverty. This report showed that children who came from poor families, were more than twice as likely to drop out of high school, Mr. Speaker. It also showed that close to three-quarters of the children that were in care at foster homes came from low income families, Mr. Speaker.

It also showed that child mortality, deaths at child birth, and shortly thereafter, are related to income. If a child came from a low income family, then that child was twice as likely to die, than if that child had come from a higher income family. That same report showed that boys coming from low income families were more than three times as likely to die from drowning, than if they came from a higher income family. It also showed that children from low income families are almost twice as likely, than a child from a higher income family, to have a psychiatric disorder, to do poorly in school, and to develop conduct disorder - in other words, to behave destructively.

Mr. Speaker, we like to speak about improving economic conditions and improving social conditions. These reports, which I have cited, and intend to table a document on later, these documents all show that without improving the education levels of the adults in the Northwest Territories, we have a very poor chance of improving social conditions. If we do improve economic conditions, it certainly won't be for those people with poor educations.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to conclude by wishing a Merry Christmas to my family, to my constituents, to all the people of the NWT, and also to my fellow members here at the Legislative Assembly. And a very hardy thank you and Merry Christmas to the staff at the Legislative Assembly, and all of the GNWT staff. Thank you.

Thank you. Members' statements, members' statements. Returns to oral questions. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not have much opportunity to welcome people from Iqaluit, but at this time it gives me extreme pleasure to introduce Ann Hanson, who as a lot of people in the Assembly know, is the Chair of the Baffin Regional Health Board. Sitting next to Annis Pat Cremie, the CEO of the Baffin Regional Health Board, and one of the few women, or people for that matter, I have seen go toe to toe with Mr. Todd, and hold her own. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Picco. Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery, Mr. Arlooktoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Celine Ningark, who is a member of the Nunavut Social Development Council, a councillor of the Hamlet of Pelly Bay, a member of the Kitikmeot Divisional Board of Education, and happens to be the better half of our chair of Nunavut, Mr. John Ningark.

Thank you. Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I can recognize my better half, after living with her for some 30 years. Celine, thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ningark. Recognition of visitors in the gallery, Mr. Krutko.

Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Oral questions. Oral questions. Mr. Krutko.

The minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, I guess that would depend on the position that the honourable member is speaking about. There is a grievance procedure through the collective agreement, if it is a unionized position, and if not, individual boards have policies for personnel matters that would set out terms and conditions under which they work and, to my understanding, terms and conditions under which they could file complaints to address their issues, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.