Good morning. Orders of the day, item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Todd.

Mr. Speaker, the staff housing strategy implemented by the previous government provided that employee tenants of government-owned tied staff housing would be required to pay for their own heating fuel effective April 1, 1996.

This government has considered the move to user pay for fuel in relation to our accelerated timetable for removing ourselves from the position of landlord to our employees. As a result, it has been decided to defer indefinitely the implementation of user pay for fuel.

Mr. Speaker, it is the position of this government that the matter of user pay can better be addressed by selling our housing units to employees for an affordable price and by encouraging home ownership in other ways. This is a matter that I intend to address in a more comprehensive manner in the upcoming budget. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Todd. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Enuaraq.

Shame, shame.

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

The Member for Baffin Central is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Conclude your statement, Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. They are losing a lot more money and they are losing a much larger tax deduction. This is my concern. Mr. Speaker, I believe all Members accept that cuts must be made. My concern, Mr. Speaker, is that those cuts should be made in a manner which is fair to every employee regardless of where they live.

I am very concerned that my constituents and others like them who live in remote communities off the highway system, will have to make a much larger sacrifice than other comparable employees because they live so far away from Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, fellow colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning on a matter of extreme urgency. At 5:15 a.m. Mountain Standard Time, I was proceeding towards the Legislative Assembly of the

Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, to the immediate left of the entrance to the Assembly, I spied something amiss. On closer inspection, as it was still dark, I could discern multi flashing lights. It was at that moment, a portal opened and I saw for the first time these extra -terrestrials.

Mr. Speaker, the leader came toward me and with the most pedagogical mind control ever witnessed, informed me that in fact these creatures were from the planet John and they called themselves Toddites. Mr. Speaker, they were dressed in pink slips and, through mind control, explained to me that fiscal destruction was happening on the planet John and they came to the planet Earth to escape and procreate. At that moment, I knew what I had to do, Mr. Speaker. Through procreation, many more of these pink-slipped creatures would be allowed to inhabit the earth, and we would be overrun by these Toddites.

Quickly remembering the song "Solidarity Forever," Mr. Speaker, I began singing at the top of my lungs. Mr. Speaker, the Toddites from the planet John beat a hasty retreat, their pink slips fluttering in the wind. Mr. Speaker, when I awoke, I was covered in sweat. It was then I realized that it had been a horrible nightmare; or was it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--- Laughter

--- Applause

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr.

Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement concerns the airport at Resolute Bay. I understand that the Government of Canada, which controls flight service stations in Resolute Bay and other locations in the NWT, has plans to sell these operations to a new non-profit corporation controlled by a major Canadian Airlines, air traffic controllers and business-jet owners. This is all planned for June 1996. This sale will be done through Bill C-20, now before the House of Commons.

Mr. Speaker, the Resolute Bay flight service station has a staff of six, including a manager. This facility provides vital services to aircraft in the High Arctic, especially at the airport in Resolute Bay, which is an important route and alternate for northern and circumpolar flights. I am concerned about the future of the Resolute Bay flight service station and others in the NWT as this privatization plan moves forward.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that Bill C-20 gives the Minister of Transport Canada an effective veto over the elimination of air traffic control services in remote and northern communities and that the government has said it intends to put in place a special process to review any planned service cuts in those regions.

Mr. Speaker, I will be urging our Minister of Transportation, the Honourable Jim Antoine, to inform the federal Minister of how important these flight service stations are for northern and circumpolar flights and urge him to continue these

services in the North. If cutbacks must be considered, Mr. Speaker, I would hope that our Minister can persuade the federal Minister to ensure that at least community air radio stations are established for at least the same hours of service provided previously by the flight service stations. Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Later today, I will be asking the Minister if he is willing to support these goals. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. Mrs. Thompson.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to mention the dogsled race from Arviat to Rankin inlet. The people in Rankin Inlet worked really hard. There were a lot of hours put in by the volunteers because they want to help the communities. I would like to recognize them at this time. I think the race is just about completed. I am not sure exactly their location now. I think they are around Whale Cove. They can usually hear through the radio. I would like to thank the organizing committee for the race in Rankin Inlet and their elders. There are a lot of unilingual people who are quite capable of organizing such a race. There were people who came from all over. The person I want to recognize is my brother-in-law, Harry Towtongie, who worked really hard. Without his hard work, I don't think this would have gone through; he worked really hard. We have to recognize the importance of the people who organized such an event. I don't think they will be covered in the media too much, but they will be covered through the radio. I believe they have to be recognized. Thank you.

--- Applause

Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my Member's statement is regarding the issue of housing in Taloyoak. I have received a letter from the Taloyoak Housing Association requesting the Government of the Northwest Territories recognize the shortage of housing in Taloyoak, as well as in other communities across the North.

Mr. Speaker, when I travel throughout the Kitikmeot region, I have noticed that there are some GNWT staff housing units that are not being occupied by anyone, while we have an extreme shortage of public units in the community. This is the case in Taloyoak. The Taloyoak Housing Association is requesting, since we have a number of empty GNWT staff houses in that community, that those units be allocated to the local Inuit who are employed by the GNWT, who are living in public units at this time, in order to recognize the shortage of public units in the Community. They should be allocated to people who were born and have lived in the community and have worked for the government for many years. They should be eligible. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I had a statement prepared on the economy, but I realized that one of my colleagues will be speaking on the same issue, so I made a change. I would like to introduce to my honourable colleagues a new toy that was developed in the Eastern Arctic. This toy is capable of speaking for long periods of time on matters from honey buckets in Hard Luck Bay to the transfer of college programs in Iqaluit. Mr. Speaker, I would like to show you this new toy. It is called the "Eddy Picco speaking doll."

--- Laughter

--- Interjection

Point of order, Mr. Picco. No? Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank my honourable colleague from Iqaluit for his kind invitation the day before yesterday to attend the next annual Nunavut Trade Show and Charity Auction and the opportunity to bid for his services. Mr. Speaker, I can inform Mr. Picco that if it is humanly possible, I will be happy to attend this fine event next year. If I am so fortunate, I would also like to put Mr. Harper on notice that he had better sharpen his pen for the next year's auction. I can assure him I would pay a great deal to simply keep Mr. Picco quiet for one hour.

---Laughter

However, I am not convinced that it is humanly possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--- Applause

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