Qujannamiik, Uqaqtii. I wish to make a few further comments about the need for executive representation in the Baffin region. I know that this government made the decision to terminate the regional director's position in all regions as a financial restraint measure and I know that most Members of this Assembly, except the Members from Baffin, supported this decision. 1, therefore, accept that the decision was made and the positions are gone.

However, Mr. Speaker, I wish to point out to the Premier and his Cabinet that I still believe that they have a strong need for a representative of the Cabinet to be located in the region. My main concern is that our government should be represented at the executive level in the Baffin region in the years leading up to Nunavut. We already know that the federal government is planning on significantly enlarging their presence in Nunavut; especially, I suspect, in Iqaluit.

I believe that our government needs someone senior in place who can represent the government as a whole and represent the views of this Legislature and the Cabinet as the federal government enlarges its presence in Nunavut. Of course, we want to get along with the new federal departments and bureaucrats who will be moving into Nunavut, but I also believe that we should have someone there who will protect the interests of this government and this Assembly and monitor what is going on. I know that the plan is that various superintendents will coordinate responses on an issue-by-issue basis, and I understand that Municipal and Community Affairs will have a major role in filling the former functions of the regional director. However, Mr. Speaker, I am doubtful that one or more superintendents can easily assume the duties of what was a busy office of four persons.

As we all know, our superintendents are busier than ever before...

Mr. Speaker, I seek 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.

Qujannamiik, Uqaqtii. ...dealing with financial restraint, employee morale, lay-offs and turnover. Mr. Speaker, I am not only concerned about the "fix-it" role that regional directors have played in the Baffin region, as I mentioned in my Member's statement yesterday. I am more concerned now about the role of the regional director in representing and, if necessary, protecting the interests of the entire territorial government.

I believe that as we move rapidly towards implementing division, it will be especially important to have good communications and working relationships with Inuit organizations and the federal government which is moving back into the Eastern Arctic in a big way. They will be spending $32 million in capital and operations and maintenance in the next few years up to 1999. For the past 25 years in the Baffin, regional directors have represented the Department of the Executive of the territorial government.

I am making these comments, Mr. Speaker, to respectfully suggest to the Premier and the government that some thought must be given now to new ways of establishing a better presence for the executive in the Baffin region. I hope the Premier and Members of Cabinet agree with me that it is especially important that our government have strong and senior representation in the Baffin at the same time as a major transition to the new Nunavut Government and the establishment of a new territorial capital is under way. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak on why community wellness should be focused on our youth. Listening to Mr. Ootes, I am glad to see that the federal government sees youth employment as top priority. I am concerned that too narrow a focus on employment will not help the youth of our nation. Many of our youth face tremendous barriers in their search for a place in Canadian society. This is especially true with aboriginal youth and youth in northern Canada. Some of these barriers are shared with all Canadian youth: the changing economy; the decline in manufacturing and resource industries; and, the rise of service industry.

There are some barriers which affect aboriginal and northern youth in much higher numbers. One of the highest barriers is that of substance abuse. We have tremendous problems with the abuse of drugs, alcohol and other intoxicants in the North. It should be obvious to the young person who is enslaved by addiction, that they are not likely to have very good employment prospects. Not only would an addicted youth be unlikely to get a good job, but he or she is unlikely to get an adequate education.

Addicted youth, rather than contributing to our society, are far more likely to represent a heavy burden on our strained social system. They will require more health care services, more remedial education, more social assistance payments and more intervention than would youth who are drug free. If we want to see the youth employment situation improve for northern and aboriginal youth, we have to address problems such as addictions. That is why I am confused by the mixed messages put out by both the federal and territorial governments. On the one hand, the government speaks of youth as a priority and funds training initiatives, the federal Taskforce on Youth and other projects.

On the other hand, the federal government takes money away from projects that are already making a positive difference to our youth. The territorial government also says there are no funds for this. 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. In 1993, the federal government started funding a pilot project to address adolescent solvent abuse in the North. The Northern Addictions Services adolescent solvent abuse treatment program has been a great success to date. Starting with eight beds managed by Northern Addictions Services, the program has helped 60 youth on the road to healing.

As I said at another time, the Northwest Territories has the youngest population in Canada. The 1991 census showed that over half our population was under the age of 25. Given that we have the highest birth rate in the country, that figure will probably be even higher when the 1996 census results are tabled.

The mixed messages we are sending to our youth are not very helpful about where our youth fit in amongst the governments' priorities. We need to be sure our youth are healthy first, ahead of anything else. All the training programs and educational strategies in the world are a complete waste of time and money to youth who are coping with the slavery of drugs, alcohol and solvents. If the federal government and the territorial government want to be taken seriously on the issue of youth employment and other youth initiatives, then a holistic approach is needed. Don't just look at issues like the transition from school to work, difficulties with labour market entry, or real and perceived employment barriers. Look at the health of our children; look at providing the services needed to help families overcome problems of substance abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, disease and inadequate housing.

We have many examples in the North of youth who have applied themselves with dedication and hard work and have developed into productive, happy, healthy adults with growing families. If we can strengthen the health of all of our youth physically, emotionally and spiritually, then we can be sure that all of our youth will have a much better chance of making the transition.

Mr. Speaker, Yellowknife is different from any other community in the North. The population in Yellowknife has increased by 1,000 in just over one year. In some cases, we could fit two or three of our Members' communities into that population increase. One of my constituents has indicated that you can buy drugs, any kind of drugs, as easy as buying candy in Yellowknife. He told me that a 14 year old was approached by a drug dealer who wanted to sell cocaine in cough syrup to that child.

The child also told my constituent that he could buy marijuana joints for $5 a piece on the streets of Yellowknife. My constituent also told me that drug dealers are getting 14 and 15-year-old girls high on drugs -- whether by shooting up intravenous injections or by other means -- and then they sell their bodies to their customers; prostitution, Mr. Speaker, amongst our youth in Yellowknife. As I say, I don't think any other community is like that.

This is why I am saying that community wellness should address the youth, particularly in Yellowknife. When this government makes money available for community wellness, we need to put guidelines in place to use that money for our youth. Thank you.

--- Applause

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to comment briefly on a shameful situation that is existing in my region of Kivallivik. Mr. Speaker, this government has placed our precious elders in a very frightening situation. Mr. Speaker, with the adjustment of the fee schedule for elders living in government-run centres, in Arviat alone we will have six elders who will be leaving the centre due to the fact that they cannot afford to stay there. Mr. Speaker, these elders will be going back to live with their extended families in situations where there is overcrowding and they will not get the care and time they deserve because the families they will be living with are presently working and trying their best to look after their children.

Mr. Speaker, this is not my idea of treating our elders, the pioneers of the North, with respect and dignity. I will be addressing this issue later on to the appropriate Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker,

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We would all like to have the freedom to live where we want. For some of us, it might be the place of our birth. For others, it might be a larger community. Unfortunately, the reality for many is that we have to go where the jobs are. Even within this House, we have evidence of just that. The Premier has requested that his Ministers move to Yellowknife simply because that is where they are needed to do the job. It has finally dawned on me why, in one community, we have a small

unemployment rate and in another, the unemployment rate is very high. The simple fact of the matter is, there aren't enough jobs in the communities with the higher unemployment.

In my community of Yellowknife, we have a low unemployment rate because if people don't have a job, they have to leave and go to where they can find one. It is a basic rule of the wage economy. Everyone, I believe, would love to have a Lac de Gras at the edge of their community. It would be so nice and convenient. The reality is, Mr. Speaker, this is not the case. People who want jobs will have to inconvenience their lives and be prepared to go where the work is. This is nothing more than what the Ministers in this House have done. I would ask MLAs to encourage their constituents to look for work and be prepared to move to find it.

Let's look at the aboriginal people as an example. Aboriginal people who lived on the land went to where the food was. They migrated to different areas in order to sustain a food supply. Now, in our wage economy, we must use that simple principle and go to where the jobs are which will provide us with the means to supply food for our families. Some aboriginal people still choose to live their traditional lifestyles of living off the land. I commend them for that. For some, this lifestyle is not their first choice and it is those who must seek a sustainable lifestyle in the wage economy and go to where the jobs are. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Henry. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Picco on May 16th with respect to the application of seniors' housing rates. The full transfer of the property management function for the government's inventory of staff housing units to the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation was completed in April of this year. This transfer does not change any of the terms and conditions for employees who occupy staff housing.

Housing Corporation policies, such as rates for seniors, apply only to tenants in public housing. These policies do not apply to tenants in staff housing. The policies that govern the terms and conditions for tenants in staff housing continue to be the responsibility of the Financial Management Board. The role of the Housing Corporation, acting as property manager, is to ensure that these policies are adhered to.

As part of the government's commitment to ensure that all housing is managed as efficiently as possible, in cases where staff housing units are no longer required for that program, one of the options that will be considered is converting them into social housing units. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Only when this occurs, would the social housing policies of the Housing Corporation apply.

Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to see that, yesterday, the Deputy Premier tabled the interim measures for the contracting procedures to comply with article 24 of the Nunavut final agreement. I was wondering why these are only interim measures and not permanent government policy. Thank you.

Thank you. Deputy Premier, Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, as the Member is aware, it takes some time to consult and implement a government policy. Cabinet felt that time is of the essence. We need to implement these measures immediately. We need to get the Inuit workers and businesses participating as much as possible in the upcoming contracting season. Therefore, we have implemented these measures in the interim. In the meantime, we will be working with NTI to develop a policy to be tabled in September.

Supplementary, Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently, in the article of Nunatsiaq News, the president of NTI is of the view that the GNWT is not in favour of the four birthright corporations owning and contracting all the new infrastructure to be built in Nunavut. Could the Deputy Premier please explain exactly what the GNWT position is on this? Thank you.

Mr. Arlooktoo.