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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to express my condolences to the families and many friends of two respected elders who passed away last week in Arviat. I refer to Casimer Nutarasungnik and Mr. Paul Iniksak. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Picco and Mr. Barnabas for visiting with Casimer while they were at the Arviat summit last week. Mr. Speaker, these gentlemen will be sorely missed by all who knew them.

Mr. Speaker, moving on to a happier matter, one that I'm sure these elders would have...

The rules are quite clear about your Member's statement. You must restrict your Member's statement to one topic only.

I believe that it is. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week I spoke of my concern about employment of northerners in Nanisivik Mine in my constituency. I expressed my concern that the agreement between the mine and governments, which was put in place when the mine was first established, may not have been honoured in some respects.

Today, I wish to raise another concern about this matter. I understand, Mr. Speaker, that the Nanisivik Monitoring Committee was set up under the master agreement for the

creation of the mine. It includes the mine, the federal government, the territorial government and the community of Arctic Bay. Under the agreement, the regional director of Baffin represents the GNWT, along with the deputy minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.

It is clear that as long as the mine exists, the committee must exist. The next meeting is scheduled for this summer and I am very pleased to learn that they plan to meet in my home community of Arctic Bay. Later this session, I will be asking our Premier who will be representing the GNWT in light of the termination of the regional director's position in the Baffin region.

Mr. Speaker, I am very concerned about the employment issues. I believe that recent trends have shown that northern employment has been diminished and turnover rates have been increasing. I understand that the committee has recently been considering the issue of northern employment, with the full support of Nanisivik Mines Limited. This concern lead to the Department of Economic Development and Tourism to issue a contract to Kakivak Association to study this committee.

I believe that especially due to the issue of employment, it will be important that the GNWT continue to have strong representatives on this committee, especially in light of current concerns about northern employment and benefits in my constituency.

Later this session, I will be asking our Premier, who will be representing the GNWT in light of the termination of the regional director's position in the Baffin region. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about the income support which was formerly known as social assistance. Mr. Speaker, we've often been told that the budget will not be balanced on the backs of the poor; however, I have received several letters from constituents as well as from the Yellowknife Women's Centre indicating that clients who go to the Yellowknife Career Centre are being told that unless children are a factor, no person is eligible for an emergency appointment even though they, themselves, are without food or accommodation. Even if a client with children is considered for an emergency appointment, which means they are either without food or a place to stay, the average delay to receiving any assistance is about two weeks.

The Women's Centre has also been told by some of their clients that people with children are either being told emergency assistance no longer exists or they are denied emergency assistance, even though they have no food for either themselves or their children. Clients have also been told, whether they have children or not and they're seeking a regular appointment with an income support worker, on average they are delayed five to six weeks before they are assisted.

Similarly, clients with or without children who miss appointments are denied assistance until the following month, which means they are unable to pay their rent or buy food and diapers for a period of six weeks to two months.

Mr. Speaker, the Yellowknife Women's Centre is being told by their clients that clients are told to access food at the Yellowknife food bank which is no longer in operation, or at the Salvation Army food bank, until their appointment with an income support worker. The Salvation Army indicates that they generally limit a person's ability to access limited types of food to twice in one month, and they only provide food for a couple of days at a time.

Numerous clients have also complained that the receptionist at the front desk of the Career Centre is rude, abusive and obstructive in her behaviour. The Women's Centre has also been informed that appointments with income support workers are often scheduled mid-month, even if clients book ahead. Therefore, they aren't able to meet the legal requirements of paying rent at the 1st of the following month, which leaves them open for eviction by landlords.

Mr. Speaker, the Women's Centre has also been informed that students on income support who attend Aurora College from the communities outside of Yellowknife and have had airfare provided by their families to go home for Easter break, have had that amount of money deducted from income support which left them unable to pay for rent or food for themselves or their children.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A further complaint that the Yellowknife Women's Centre has heard is that clients are not being informed that they have the right to appeal decisions that have been made by the income support worker, nor are they provided with the appropriate documentation to pursue an appeal.

Mr. Speaker, we have often heard that this government will not balance the budget on the backs of the poor. Surely, Mr. Speaker, if some of these allegations are true, then perhaps we are indeed attempting to balance the budget somewhat on the backs of the poor. These types of things should not be happening. I would urge the Minister responsible for income support to look into these matters. I put him on notice that I will be asking questions at the appropriate time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Erasmus. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize a good friend of mine and also my brother-in-law from Clyde River, Mr. James Akavak.

--- Applause

Thank you. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Miltenberger. .

Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It was my intention at the very onset of establishing this panel to pick people who are very committed to the North, very committed to seeing the North develop and creating jobs in the North. It was my understanding that we would not be paying any honorariums to panel members. There is talk of some of the panel members requesting at least $1 a year to be paid, so there was some type of contractual arrangement between the two.

Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Morin.

As Members know as well, most of the Northwest Territories is subject to the settlement of comprehensive claims and most of those have benefit agreements that are required by law to be fulfilled when projects are being proposed. There are discussions with communities and regions as to trying to find ways to encourage communities, particularly aboriginal people to take on jobs and training in the industries that are most prevailing. Those are the types of initiatives that this government tries to advance, as well as looking at partnerships between the mining companies and the aboriginal claims organizations in the area to ensure that a working relationship is established at the onset and the working relationship is posed to result in some very real benefits to both parties as work progresses. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Barnabas.