The House will come to order. Thank you, Mr. Ningark. Good afternoon. I would also like to thank Mr. Ningark for acting in my place for the last two days.

Orders of the day, item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Stephen Kakfwi will be absent from the House today to attend Rendezvous Canada, 1996, in Edmonton. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mrs. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's nice to have you back. Mr. Speaker, as you are aware, the Status of Women Council is an agency of this government and has a legislated mandate to work towards the equality of all women in the NWT. It provides advice to the GNWT, conducts research, public education, and advocacy on behalf of women. It also provides assistance to women's groups.

Through its community worker, the council has helped community groups in every constituency and almost every community. Workshops requested by communities have included board development, self-esteem, effective parenting, family violence and sexual assault, women's health issues and child sexual abuse.

In the past five years, the council has been able to access an increasing number of dollars from funding programs outside the NWT, to add to the core funding provided by this government. Last year, for each dollar of core funding, it raised an additional dollar for programs and projects to benefit women, children and families.

This does not include the additional funding obtained by community groups as a result of council assistance, including research and proposal writing. In the past five years, the council has done research, lobbying, public education and a wide range of practical initiatives in the following areas: family violence, justice, individual and community wellness, child care, education and employment, the environment and community development.

Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to advise you that the six-member Status of Women Council board was in Yellowknife last week for three intensive days of strategic planning for the next three years. It developed a vision that equality is based on healthy families and communities where women's traditional role as nurturers, advisors and teachers is respected and recognized as a valuable resource to all members of the community.

The Status of Women Council's vision recognizes the need for communities, families and women to be united and to work together. If this happens, we will have a healthy, productive northern society which respects everyone's differences.

The council will now begin developing a detailed workplan to set priorities and outline the next steps to realize its vision. This will be done through developing practical initiatives in four key areas: education and training; wellness, with a focus on prevention health and treatment; community and individual empowerment; and, women in leadership.

Some initiatives the council intends to work on include developing community-based resources, facilities and peer counsellors to support community wellness initiatives; developing economic initiatives for both the council and northern women; designing initiatives to encourage women to become leaders in business, government and politics; and, expanding on past initiatives in community wellness, family violence and sexual assault, alcohol and drugs, education on equality, child care, western NWT political development and justice.

The Status of Women Council recognizes that it can be both a resource and an ally through creative and cooperative partnerships with businesses, government, aboriginal women's and community organizations.

Mr. Speaker, I command the council, its board and staff for their hard work to date, and I encourage this Assembly's support for their vision and for their initiatives in the coming year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--- Applause

Thank you, Mrs. Thompson. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Picco.

Mr. Speaker, over the past few days, I have spent a lot of time soul-searching for the elusive answer to a most-important question. Mr. Speaker, when the fogshrouded veil was lifted, the answer appeared to me like a thunderbolt from the mighty hand of Thor. When you bring a collective of 24 people together without a party structure, allegiances are made from common ground or geography. This appears to be the case in this Assembly. I have no problems with this, Mr. Speaker, but sometimes the Borg collective takes over.

Mr. Speaker, the Borg collective controls the thought patterns and sometimes interrupts independent thought practices. I've been trying to resist the Borg collective but, Mr. Speaker, because of Thor's thunderbolt, I can see now that in some cases the Borg collective is not necessarily a bad thing.

--- Laughter

Mr. Speaker, consensus government allows independence of thought and ideas. Although the collective is at work, I think that this has been evident this past week. 1, for one, am thankful for this. Qujannamiik, Uqaqtii.

--- Applause

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

Thank you. The Member for Thebacha is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Conclude your statement, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 3, Members' statement. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Ootes on May 7th, with respect to the transfer of occupational health and safety to WCB.

Fines imposed by the inspectors under the Explosives Use Act, the Mine Health and Safety Act and the Safety Act shall, when collected, be paid over to the Workers' Compensation Board and form part of the accident fund established under the Workers' Compensation Act.

The revenue from these penalties will not come back to the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Les Clegg, a very long-time employee of the Government of the Northwest Territories.

--- Applause

Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. That was easy. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Miltenberger.

Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe I had indicated earlier, in our last sitting, that we are endeavouring to table this very important affirmative action report during this session. I believe that's still our objective. I will check with my deputy minister on this issue, and try to ensure that this important report and study is tabled before the end of this session. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is to the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, I'm referring to a document we received today from the Yellowknife Women's Centre. This letter stated that their organization received five complaints from Inuit and aboriginal and Metis people who have been denied social assistance or income support over a three-month period since they returned to their place of birth. Would the Minister inform this House as to his knowledge, if any, of these allegations and whether or not residents born in the Northwest Territories have to put up with this type of treatment? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe the question is in respect to social assistance. As such, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment is responsible for income reform. Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Mr. O'Brien, please clarify your question.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am referring to a document received today from the Yellowknife Women's Centre. The letter states that the organization has received five complaints from Inuit, aboriginal and Metis people who have been denied social assistance or income support over a three-month period, since their return to their place of birth in the North. Would the Minister inform this House as to his knowledge, if any, of these allegations or whether or not residents born in the NWT have to put up with this treatment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister inform this House as to the time frame? That individual has left the North and has returned. What is the time frame before they can receive benefits?

Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the document I am referring to is addressed to all MLAs. I would ask if the Minister would review the document when he has an opportunity and report back to the House as to their concerns and questions regarding this matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, in a Member's statement and last week I asked the Minister of Health about the increase to board and lodging charged to our senior citizens. Mr. Speaker, we all realize that the government has major deficit problems, but surely the increasing board and lodging for our elders to fight the deficit ... My question to the Minister is will he review the

increases to ensure that our elders are not being singled out or put in hardship. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in responding to this question in the past, I have said that as it stands now, the standardized rates were brought into place to even off the different rates between level 1/11 and level III/IV clients. As it stands now, unless there are some serious problems as a result of these rates, they will stand. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have an elders' facility in my community. We have some very serious concerns with it. Not only is it in my community, but it is a regional centre. How much does the government project as revenue or cost-savings by increasing board and lodging amounts?

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, based on the June 1 st implementation date, the expected net gain for the Government of the Northwest Territories would be approximately $400,000. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Mr. Speaker, that sounds like a considerable sum. How many elders do we have staying in these types of facilities where the increases are being implemented?

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have approximately 195 individuals staying in our facilities which would be impacted by the standardized rates. Of those, Mr. Speaker, 106 are in current level [[[/IV designations, where their rates would be decreased; and 89 are in the level 11 classification, in which their rates would be increased. Thank you.

Final supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Mr. Speaker, I am not Albert Einstein. Sometimes I do have trouble adding, but I can see from the number -- that $400,000 -- and the numbers given by the Minister for an increase seems to be out of whack; the stated increase of revenue of $400,000. Can the Minister inform me what the formula used was to base this increase of the board and lodging?

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, in answering the question, these rates were based on taking the lowest averages of other jurisdictions within Canada to come up with a reasonable rate that is still below the Canadian average. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you. Minister responsible for FMBS, Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All casual employment, whether it is summer students or otherwise, falls under the terms of reference of the bargaining unit representing the employment with respect to the Public Service Act.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I tried to say yesterday, and perhaps wasn't as explicit as I should have been, we proposed a specific system. In the last round of bargaining with the union with respect to student employment, we believed that we could get a reasonable rate and be able to expand the employment opportunities. This was rejected by the union. Unfortunately, it wasn't incorporated into the current contract that is out for ratification. It is my understanding that anyone who is a public servant and not excluded, the rates of pay must be negotiated within the union. So it would be difficult, even though we would like to move forward on a separate rate of pay for students -- I believe my colleague is of a similar mind as I am -- to ensure that more students get recruited. It would be difficult, given the way our bargaining organization is set up. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Item 6, oral questions.

Thank you. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My colleague, Mr. Dent, who has the lead on this issue, has advised me that there is a meeting set up tomorrow with the appropriate parties to determine what, if any, assistance the federal government, under this program, is prepared to provide this government. I suggest that later on this week may be an appropriate time to raise that question with the Minister after he has met with his counterparts tomorrow. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of MACA. It is in relation to the recently announced operational evaluation on the city of Yellowknife. Section 189 of the Cities, Towns and Villages Act requires that an operational evaluation be undertaken on an annual basis. It is my understanding that the department has not undertaken such an evaluation since October 1991. Would the Minister please clarify what the driving force is for the review being done at this time?

Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mrs. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The city and the department agreed that there is now an opportunity to undertake a focused evaluation. The department has not done a comprehensive evaluation with the city of Yellowknife since 1991. In 1993 and 1994, the department did review and follow up on the compliance recommendation of the comprehensive evaluation as required annually under the Cities, Towns and Villages Act. These annual inspections do confirm that the city has implemented recommendations in a comprehensive evaluation. The department's practice has been to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of municipalities every three years and a routine inspection in the intervening years.

Supplementary, Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister is no doubt aware, there is ongoing litigation between the city of Yellowknife and the Yellowknife Ratepayers' Association concerning the legality of the alderman's briefings. Will the alderman's briefings be part of the review that is being done?

Mrs. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No.

Supplementary, Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories is facing a serious fiscal problem, as is the rest of Canada. I understand that the city of Yellowknife has at least one international award for its outstanding operations. It is a sophisticated municipality. I would like to know if the Minister truly feels that such an evaluation is the best use of the government's scarce resources.

Mrs. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would first like to congratulate the city of Yellowknife for having received an international award for its outstanding operation. Evaluations are very important to me. They are a two-way process that provides invaluable feedback between the territorial and community governments to

strengthen the partnership between the two levels of government for the betterment of the community residents who are served by them.

The evaluation process has increased and become an important development tool to assess and increase community capacity through training and development. It is an opportunity for communities to receive guidance and advise and identify issues facing them and their training requirements. I feel that it is a very valuable tool and it is very important to me. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Miltenberger.

Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation, Mr. Dent.

Thank you.

Miltenberger.

Supplementary, Mr.

Mr. Dent.

I-

Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To my recollection, I don't personally recall receiving correspondence on the matter. However, I am aware that departmental officials did have consultations with the seniors' organizations over the course of developing these rate changes. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Roland.

Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mrs. Thompson.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The water and sewage program has been worked on. Once the communities are able to operate these on their own, they were able to get their funding as of April 1st. Those that are not yet ready to take on this program will have three months to try and take on this program. That's what we have planned. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Mrs. Thompson.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. After three months, if the communities are not yet ready to take on this responsibility, my officials would be able to give workshops on how to take on this program. That's what will be happening if they're not yet ready to take on that responsibility after three months. Thank you.

Item 6, oral questions. Mr. O'Brien.

Corporation

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation. Mr. Speaker, during a briefing meeting held for the Government Operations committee a few months ago, the Minister indicated that there was no intention to privatize the corporation at this time. Can the Minister advise this House whether or not this status has changed? Thank you.

Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation, Mr. Dent.

Supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister advise this House whether there has been any consideration given to this to make this change in the term of this Assembly?

Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. O'Brien.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister advise this House whether or not there have

been any detailed discussions regarding this issue over the past few months? Thank you.

Mr. Dent.