Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announced the release of two new Internet resources. SikSik -- which is Education, Culture and Employment's presence on the World Wide Web -- has expanded to cover career development as well as literacy and adult basic education.

The career development site provides information that individuals, employers, communities and department staff can use in career and employment development. The site highlights departmental programs, services and resources. It also includes information on the NWT labour market, employment initiatives in key sectors such as mining, and training opportunities. People using the site are able to link directly to the regional career centres, the northern colleges and Can Work Net. Can Work Net is a national partnership that provides information about the job market and career planning.

The literacy and adult basic education site provides users with information on literacy in the workplace and the community, as well as aboriginal languages literacy. Funding procedures for community literacy projects in the Territories, descriptions of current projects, and links to other resources are also included.

Education, Culture and Employment's strategic plan outlines the key role that information technology will play in improving educational services to northerners and developing community learning networks. Adding information about career development, literacy and adult basic education to SikSik is an important step in supplying vital information to people and communities.

Mr. Speaker, later on in this session, I will provide more information about how the department is supporting the development of new uses for computers in the classroom. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to speak again about the senior fossil fuel subsidy. Ordinary Members of this House and the Social Programs Committee members have repeatedly expressed their objection to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment's position on the subsidy of fossil fuel to seniors in the Northwest Territories. Despite lengthy discussions, impassioned pleas, and intelligent reasoning, Minister Dent has not seen fit to leave this $250,000 item of support to seniors in the 1997/98 budget. The Minister told us that if we wanted to leave this expenditure in place, the money for it will have to be found some place else within the department.

Several reasonable and viable options for the revenue could be found or a reduction made were offered up. This subsidy is part of a larger issue of fairness and consistency in support to seniors. A system of programs which very obviously has many flaws and gaps. After all this discussion, I have to ask myself a question I often ask my children, who appear at times to have selective hearing, am I having a conversation with myself? I question the Minister's hearing in this instance as well.

Are Ordinary Members who feel very strongly about this subsidy having a conversation with ourselves? What part of leave it in the budget does the Minister not understand? It is my understanding that a comprehensive review of support to seniors is underway, or going to be undertaken. While I applaud this measure, which will look at things such as income thresholds, age, and eligibility, I would like to see the fossil fuel subsidy remain in the budget. Further, there be a moratorium on any reductions in support to seniors until such time as a fair and integrated proposal is brought forward and adopted. If such a moratorium on changes to support to seniors is not agreed to by the Minister, I think that a boycott of the consideration of the budget of Education, Culture and Employment in this House would be in order. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am going to join my honourable colleagues today and question the recent appointments of non-northerners to senior posts in the civil service. We have been dealing with this issue at various levels for some time. Ordinary MLAs fear that qualified northerners are losing opportunities to imported talent. First, let me make one thing clear. I do not want to question the capabilities of individuals who have moved north to take senior positions with the territorial government. I am sure their qualifications and references are first rate.

My problems lie with the decisions of the people doing the hiring. This government must make a commitment to the northern work force, and I do not believe that recent decisions reflect that commitment.

Mr. Speaker, when we negotiated a development agreement with BHP Diamonds, we demanded the company set a target of 60 percent northern hires. Likewise, we apply a strict affirmative action policy throughout the lower levels of the civil service. I think we should try harder to enforce similar targets and policies at the senior management level where appointments are most visible and influential. If we do not, I fear we will lose all credibility, especially, when we ask outside employers to hire northerners and promote them to management positions.

I wonder what kind of image we project when we hire the bulk of our senior managers from the south. I suspect it is not a good one. The fact that the government has dragged its feet in replying to last year's report on affirmative action makes matters even worse. I have been asking for a reply since I got here in 1995.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will clarify the point as well. Three of the five senior appointments, that is at the deputy minister and senior ADM level, have been or will be appointed from the south in the past year.

That is my point. If I may continue, Mr. Speaker, to conclude my statement. I have been asking for a reply to the affirmative action report since I got here in 1995, but I have not had that report tabled back in the House. Mr. Speaker, I believe, northerners are up to any job that this government has to offer. Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also believe it is up to us to demonstrate confidence in our northern people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, as well, would like to rise and voice my concerns with the issue of the hiring of senior staff at the ADM and deputy minister level. I would point out that, as Mr. Ootes has, three of the last five positions have been hired from the south, and I am very concerned about the message that we are sending as a government in regards to our strong sentiments that we voice about affirmative action, and the words we speak, but the actions that we carry out seem to different sometimes. At this level, I do not think it is appropriate, and I am concerned that the message that we are sending to the people, is it is okay to lay off northerners by the hundreds, but we always have room to hire a few more southerners, even though we have a whole pool of qualified northern labour and talent here.

This is a message in the case of MACA, that community empowerment is so complicated for us that we have to bring in somebody from the south to help us run it. If we have to bring in somebody that is an expert from the south on community empowerment, how can we expect to sell this to the people, who are expected to use their own resources and the services there to deal with this issue?

It is a message that, after 30 years, we still have to rely on imported managers to come up and run the affairs of this territory. It is a message that northerners are not capable, after all these years, as we push towards division and self-government.

Mr. Speaker, the senior management ranks are a bleak landscape in terms of affirmative action, and the statistics bear it out. It is nothing that we can hold our heads up with and say that we have met any kind of targets that are really relevant or reasonable.

Mr. Speaker, I am concerned that the government's actions and its words do not match. It is a message that there is a double standard. This, of course, begs the question: what type of affirmative action northern strategy can we expect, that will be accepted as relevant and credible, given the two paths we seem to be walking as a government and an Assembly on this very critical issue? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today in regards to the Chief Julius School that was destroyed by fire over a year ago and is presently under construction. The community has made a decision to build a full size gymnasium similar to the one that was destroyed in the fire January 9, 1996. But because regulations that this government has put in place in regards to the size of gymnasiums based on population, they are not able to do that. Yet, the community has made a commitment in the past to down-size the existing community hall and transfer those monies to the previous gymnasium in 1994. Through the destruction of the school in the fire, they were told that they would not get a full size gymnasium, yet, it is being constructed to date at a cost of almost $300,000, which the community will have to pick up the portion of that cost. The school that was destroyed was covered by insurance. I do not see why this government cannot find the appropriate funds through the insurance policy or plan that it had in place. Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will be asking the Minister of Education a question on this matter, which I believe that this department has the authority for education and education facilities in all communities, and should take the responsibility when those facilities are being constructed. Thank you.