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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend I was home in Iqaluit and was able to attend two memorable events: the Baffin Regional Inuit Association and their community economic development arm, the Kakivak Association, opened their new office building, the Parnaivik Building.

Mr. Speaker, this is more than a building. It is the fruition of a dream that Kakivak has had for the past few years. In 1992, it was on the drawing board but because of fiscal restraint, the project had to be delayed. The staff of the Kakivak Association did not despair. They redrew their plans and on May 3rd, the building was officially opened.

Mr. Speaker, Pat Agnakak, David Berman and the rest of the Kakivak staff have to be justifiably proud of their new building. It contains their office, along with an incubator mall for new Inuit businesses to begin their entrepreneurship.

Having worked closely with Kakivak since 1992, I know the amount of time and frustration that they faced to build a building that the critics said would not be built.

Mr. Speaker, the manager of the Kakivak Association, Pat Agnakak's father is the Reverend Mike Gardener. Mr. Gardener is officially retiring from active ministry of the St. Jude's Parish in Iqaluit after 40 years of service to the residents of the Eastern Arctic.

Mike is well known and respected all throughout Nunavut and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank Mike for all the years of his devoted service and unselfish devotion to our community and the people of Iqaluit, and his former parishes of Pangnirtung, Kimmirut and Cape Dorset. We all wish him and his wife, Margaret, the best in their retirement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--- Applause

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

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (End of translation) I am pleased to rise today to recognize the outstanding achievement of one of my young constituents, Cadet Master Corporal Tina Muckpaloo of 3045 Arctic Bay Army Cadet Corps.

On April 29, 1996, Tina travelled to Ottawa to attend the celebrations for the 117th anniversary of the Army Cadet Corps of Canada. At a ceremony attended by the Prime Minister and other dignitaries, including a grand parade and marching bands, Tina Muckpaloo was awarded the Silver Star Award for being the most proficient army cadet in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, Tina was given this award, not only for her good work with the Arctic Bay Army Cadet Corps, which is commanded by Mr. Dennis Hubbell, who is a local teacher, but also for her community service.

Tina has been in the Arctic Bay cadets since August 1993. She received the most-improved cadet award in 1995 and is one of the top female shooters on the rifle team and is a member of the zone 4 drill team. She has always had perfect attendance at school; where she is an exemplary student, and she never misses cadets. Her commanding officer, who nominated her for this award, says that he is often impressed with the great respect that is given to her by her peers. This is revealed by the immense concern for others in the corps and within her community. For example, Tina is the type of person who cleans her neighbour's house when they are ill.

This young woman is a credit to herself, her community and her family. Her parents are Koonoo and lama Muckpaloo. In a recent letter, the deputy mayor of Arctic Bay, Mr. Pauloosie Muckpa, said that Tina should feel proud of her personal achievement and for the healthy competition from her fellow cadets who helped her achieve the award. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to continue.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The deputy mayor went on to say that he expects this to be one of the many successes Tina will have in her life. I am sure all Members will wish to join me in congratulating this outstanding young woman. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I stood in this House and asked the Minister of Transportation a question regarding ABT being invited for a tender call. First, let me state that ABT came to me not looking for any special treatment, but to have an opportunity to bid on a contract in our area. I do realize the need for a policy, but this policy seems rather unfair, when you consider a company being invited to submit a tender on a job worth $100,000 but not able to bid on the one worth $2 million. This could easily show favouritism. I think all contracts that are tendered should follow current policy, such as northern preference and business incentive. Maybe it is time we reviewed the tender policies currently in use.

I find it very frustrating that our government, on one hand, promotes and encourages local people to start businesses and, at the same time, this same government refuses to allow a locally-owned company to pursue active contracts that will hire and train local people in our area who are needed now and more so in the future.

I am also concerned with the Minister's lines of communication, as stated in an oral question of yesterday. I received a letter from the mayor of Rae-Edzo on Thursday, May 2, 1996, at approximately 9:22 a.m. Mr. Marion came to my office at approximately 1: 15 p.m. to deliver letters to the Premier and Ministers, with the letter from Grand Chief Joe Rabesca going directly to the Premier and Minister via fax at 11:15 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, as you may recall, the Minister indicated that he had no knowledge of this concern until noon of May 7, 1996. Something didn't work. I would like to thank the Minister for his reply. However, he should take note that I will be asking further questions today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last Friday, I spoke on the subject of electronic monitoring of prisoners. This alternative to traditional jails allows those convicted of non-violent offences to serve their sentences at home. I note that I am not the only one who thinks this is an idea worth implementing. Monday's News/North included an editorial which agreed with me that any solution which could reduce overcrowding in our jails and save money is worth a closer look.

When I questioned the Minister of Justice on the subject on Friday, he responded by saying that electronic monitoring wouldn't be practical in the Northwest Territories. I can appreciate that immediate savings in such a program might not seem worth the initial expense, but there are a number of factors to consider. For example, our jails right now are running at almost 30 per cent over capacity. This problem is projected to get even worse very quickly. If electronic monitoring means we don't have to spend scarce dollars on new jails or if it means we can avoid an incident such as the riot at Manitoba's jail in April, it will probably prove very worthwhile in the long run.

I recognize our potential problems with implementing this technology. We don't have a large inmate base compared to other jurisdictions. We would probably not be able to have 60 or so inmates on this program at any one time. Long distance telephone calls are an important part of the program, As we all know, these costs are high up here.

Many northerners' homes don't even have telephone access. Inmates on an electronic monitoring program need support to successfully complete the program. We don't always have all the support and resources we need for our inmates. Similarly, supervisors can't just drive from Yellowknife and visit, whereas supervisors in BC's program can from their offices.

This government has much of the concept of community empowerment and community justice. Non-violent inmates who need to serve short or intermittent sentences might need only minimal or community support using the same resources intended for community wellness and justice initiatives. Local elders and other people could prove to be an effective source of limited supervision and other support. Staying in the community would save travel dollars and would allow those convicted of relatively minor offences all the benefits of remaining in their community. 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. Proceed, Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, about 33 per cent of our inmates are in jail for offences which did not involve violence. About 13 per cent of all inmates have no violent history. If some of these inmates can serve their sentences outside of the additional walled prison, we might be able to avoid many costly problems down the road.

Earlier today, Minister Antoine indicated that Cabinet was shocked and dismayed by some of the arguments that were made by opponents to Bill C-222. Mr. Speaker, 1, too, am shocked and dismayed that a government department's first response is merely that it is too expensive. We have never done it that way before. It wouldn't work up here. My response is that the government has to learn how to think more creatively. Remember, jails are very expensive. They were never used here before the Second World War and they aren't working very well up here either. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, during the review of the Education budget with the Minister of Education, Mr. Dent indicated that Yellowknife has a utilization rate in all Yellowknife schools of 80 per cent. This figure takes into account the old St. Patrick High School, which this previous government saw fit to replace and not renovate. I suggested to the Minister that the actual utilization rate in Yellowknife was over 92 per cent. I did not feel that using space of portables and the old high school could be factored into this rate.

Mr. Dent indicated that: "The Member appears to be absolutely right. If you take out the old St. Patrick High School, the level of utilization would approach 92 per cent. That still leaves 322 seats available, which is a fair number of seats for an influx.' I said we can deal with an influx if that is what happens.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister indicated 322 seats available within the city's 10 schools would be sufficient to address the needs. I would like to challenge this figure, as I feel it may be misleading. If we were to break down the number of seats overall and distribute them into the 10 schools, this would mean that each school in Yellowknife would have approximately 30 vacant seats. Mr. Speaker, this is not the case in many schools.

Currently, our two high schools have very high utilization rates, which are well above the 85 per cent utilization rate set by the department. We can incorrectly think that the actual number of seats available at the specific grade levels will accommodate the needs for further growth. Currently, the utilization rate of Sir John Franklin High School is 99.29 per cent and the rate at St. Patrick High School is 107 per cent; both well beyond the acceptable level of 85 per cent set by the Department of Education. Further indicators reflect much higher rates for the next year.

Later today, I will be asking the Minister further questions on this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Roland on May 6th with respect to the education tax increases.

Education tax rates in tax-based municipalities and education and property tax rates in the general taxation area are set annually by the Minister of Finance by the issuance of an establishment order under the Property Assessment and Taxation Act. The establishment order implementing the increase for 1996 has been signed. In the past, no prior notice would normally have been given until this was done.

In recognition of the open nature of doing business in this government, it is my intention to keep Members advised of the initiatives of this nature. However, in this case, the Member is correct that MLAs were not informed of the increase and I apologize for this oversight.

On the subject of the revenue gain from the increase in the education and property tax, it is estimated to be $575,000 in 1996-97. Of this amount, $160,000 is expected to be collected from the education tax in tax-based municipalities, and $415,000 from education and property tax in the general taxation area.

The impact of the tax increase depends on the level of assessment on each property. For tax-based communities, average assessments range from approximately $40,000 in Fort Simpson to $90,000 in Inuvik. The average rise in education tax would therefore be from $306 to $336 in Inuvik and from $172 to $190 in Fort Simpson, increases of $30 and $18 per year respectively.

In the general taxation area, the increases are similar. In Cape Dorset, for example, where the average assessment of a single-family income is $43,000, property and education taxes would rise from $287 to $316, an increase of $29 per year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Picco regarding tabling of sole-source contracts.

Mr. Picco asked if the government would publish the sole-source and negotiated contracts of this government. The government now publishes all contract payments quarterly, where the contract payments are over $5,000. This report is sent to Members of the Legislative Assembly and to the NWT Chamber of Commerce. It is available to any member of the general public for $9, to cover the cost of printing. This report captures all tendered, negotiated and sole-sourced contracts entered into by this government and identifies the contractor, the contractors' location, the source document contract number, the nature of the contract payments, the location where the contract service or benefit is provided and the amount of each contract. The report also identifies whether the contactor is northern or southern. The most recent version of this report has just been sent out under cover letter from the chairman of the Financial Management Board, the Honourable John Todd. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize some very important ladies in the gallery. The Status of Women Council of the NWT board is holding its annual meeting in Yellowknife this week. Board members present in the Speaker's Gallery today are President Rita Arey, from Aklavik...

--- Applause

I'll just go down the list and they can all stand up. Vice-President Sister Agnes Sutherland from Fort Smith...

--- Applause

... Vice-President Rebecca Kudloo from Baker Lake...

--- Applause

... Director Elizabeth Lyall from Taloyoak...

--- Applause

... Director Joan Kalaserk from Rankin Inlet...

--- Applause

... Director Vera Morin from Hay River...

--- Applause

... there are also council staff who are present in the Speaker's Gallery who are Sharon Buness-Hall, executive director...

--- Applause

... Marsha Argue, researcher...

--- Applause

... Theresa Handley, administrative assistant

--- Applause

... Susan Starr, meeting facilitator...

--- Applause

... and Bertha Norwegian, special advisor on women's issues.

--- Applause

Thank you. I really appreciate these ladies.

Thank you and welcome to the Assembly. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mrs. Groenewegen.