Thank you, Mr. Arlooktoo. Good morning. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, communities in the Mackenzie Delta were surprised to hear reports that the Yukon Territorial Government was considering closing the Dempster Highway during the winter months as a cost-saving measure. The Delta communities were quick to respond, pointing out the importance of this highway link for the delivery of their fresh groceries and supplies. They also identified the volume of business that Delta residents and businesses create in the Yukon every year.

I am happy to report to the Members that the Yukon Government does not plan to close the Dempster Highway.

-- Applause

Here in Yellowknife, the Members for the Delta area, community and business representatives and I met on Wednesday, January 29th, 1997, with the Honourable David Keenan, Yukon's Minister of Community and Transportation Services. With the exception of the short periods each fall and spring, when the Mackenzie and Peel River crossings are out of service, we confirmed that maintenance on the Yukon portion of the highway will continue and traffic will continue to flow.

Yukon's government is facing the same financial problems we are. Like ourselves, budget cuts in the Yukon are a reality. Early in their budget exercise, the Dempster Highway was targeted and options evaluated. I am pleased to say that they contacted us and gave us an opportunity to contribute to their evaluation. This week's meeting shows that they gave our concerns and advice genuine consideration and the impact of the budget cuts on Delta residents has been minimized.

The cuts to the Dempster Highway's budget are best described as operational efficiencies rather than service cuts. The closing of one of the three highway maintenance camps may result in little longer response times to changing road conditions but should not affect the safe operation of the highway. The closing of the highway and redeploying of staff to other activities, during the fall and spring periods when the Mackenzie and Peel River crossings are also closed, will have only a minimal impact on the highway's use. Even this impact can be reduced by scheduling opening and closing dates, so that travel and shipping plans can be made in advance. Other changes, such as increasing dust control and eliminating snow catchments, will actually improve the service on the highway, while achieving long-term savings in operating costs.

While he was here, I expressed my appreciation to Minister Keenan for the cooperative approach his government has taken in this matter. Today, Mr. Speaker, I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of honourable Mr. Krutko, Mr. Roland and Mr. Steen, as well as the community and business representatives, who took the time to offer their advice and expertise, both to my office and directly to the Yukon government. By working together, Mr. Speaker, there will be no interruption in the Dempster Highway's vital link to the communities of the Mackenzie Delta.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of revenue generation opportunities in the north came up several times recently in the House. It is important, Mr. Speaker, that we develop a strategy to gradually reduce our dependence on transfer of payments from the federal government. We have to explore innovative ways to broaden our economic base by examining new avenues to generate revenues in the north. We must strive to create new economic opportunities and jobs so that we can achieve a sustainable level of growth.

Mr. Speaker, we must be proactive and seriously examine the revenue side of our budget, to help ensure a more hopeful and promising future for our children. Promoting the north, and enhancing economic links with the south, is one viable option. Mr. Krutko has been a visionary in this regard since he combines Mickey Mouse ties with traditional attire. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if we can pursue this innovative approach in our desire to creatively explore potential revenue generators in the north. With these colourful Mickey Mouse ties displayed on the television screen, the Disney company has certainly been benefiting from this free form of advertising.

Mr. Speaker, I wonder if, in the north, we can now share in the wealth, by inviting Disney to come to Yellowknife and develop a show about the north, or even take part in discussing the dress code in the House. This item has been referred to the Rules Committee, of which I am chair, so I believe we will be inviting Disney to appear before that committee. They can also promote the north's fashions in the south, but also our northern environment and lifestyle. Given Mr. Krutko's contacts with Mickey Mouse, perhaps he can link us with Walt Disney and invite them to the north. We can send a copy of Hansard, with our invitation, and also invite the national media to get maximum national coverage, here in Canada and in the US.

Mr. Speaker, we have all the amenities to accommodate events such as this and display our northern hospitality. I am sure this event will benefit many businesses in the north, including airlines, hotels and restaurants. Mr. Speaker, this may seem a mickey mouse way to generate revenue, but so what, as long as we get the revenue and the publicity. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Henry. Members' statements. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the past week we have discussed at some length the new budget. We have spent the first year and a half of our mandate as an Assembly trying to deal with the legacy of debt that we inherited. We have also spent time gearing up for division. With this in mind, it is unclear how replacing regional librarians in the east with support services from the west is either cost effective or logistically sound. Mr. Speaker, in less than 800 days two new territories will be formed. Is it sensible for this government to downsize, in this case, library services before division because on April 1, 1999, Nunavut will not have the regional librarian position because the whole basis of the operation will be in far off Hay River. What will we do then, Mr. Speaker? Who will provide those library and languages services? Language is an issue here, Mr. Speaker, because the regional librarian coordinates and facilitates the collection of Inuktitut materials. Following on this, Mr. Speaker, the proposed closure of the language bureau is another attack by this government on language and education. How can we justify closing the language bureau when the monetarial savings will be minimal? No, Mr. Speaker, we need this government involved with language issues. We need a presence with Dogrib, Gwich'in, North and South Slavey, Cree, Inuktitut and other aboriginal languages. It is sad, Mr. Speaker, sad that some people see the language bureaus as only a den of interpreters and translators. The language bureau is more than this, and I will be asking questions on this area, later today. Mr. Speaker, a reputation for a 1,000 years can depend on the conduct of a single moment. Let the Members of the 13th Assembly remember this, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Picco. Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today, is in regards the service that is available through Stanton Hospital. Mr. Speaker, the other day I made a statement concerning eye glasses. My intent, Mr. Speaker, was to try to fix the problem, wherever it may be, whether it is through the prescriptions, the dispensing of the prescriptions, or if it happens to be the people who make the glasses down south, or whatever. I have tried different means of getting some action prior to that, but there was one avenue that I was not aware of, and I would like to make the public aware of that today.

When people deal with health care professionals and facilities, it can be an intimidating thing, particularly for people who do not work in offices. They may be unhappy with how they were treated, or they do not understand why some things were done. Stanton Hospital recognizes this, and they recognize that patients and families may have questions, but do not know where to find the answers or that they may have a complaint to register. To help the general public, Stanton has appointed a patient representative back around 1993 or so, and patients or their families who have questions or concerns can go to this representative. They can raise questions about the hospital itself, its various clinics, or its staff. The patient representative tries to help in a way that is easy for the patient or the family. The current representative is Heather Chang, and she can be contacted in person at the hospital or else you can call a toll free number which is 1-800-661-0896, or you can reach her by letter at Stanton Hospital. She will do what she can to try to help you. Each and every concern is followed up, and additionally a summary of concerns is given to the board and a quality management committee regularly. This is how the hospital has responded to try to listen and to improve its service. 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. You have unanimous consent, Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, the hospital is trying to respond to concerns in this manner. One of the things that I would like to suggest is perhaps they could advertise this a little bit better, so that more people know about the representative and this 1-800 line and the rest of that. Perhaps they could up a sign prominently displayed at the hospital, at the eye clinic, at the health clinic and the various offices that they have, so people will know this. Mr. Speaker, I applaud the Stanton Hospital's efforts to be responsive to the needs of their patients, and if people have a concern or questions to ask, I urge them to let Stanton Hospital know through this agency, because if they do not know there is a problem, they cannot fix it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Erasmus. Members' statements. Mr. Ootes.

The Member for Yellowknife Centre is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. You have unanimous consent, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Members' statements. Mr. Miltenberger.

Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Enuaraq on January 23, regarding housing shortages in Clyde River. Mr. Speaker, I would like to address the question raised by Mr. Enuaraq about the Housing Corporation's policy on so called matchbox houses. There are approximately 300 homes left that were built under the northern (inaudible) program of the federal government back in the 1960s and early 1970s. Many of these homes have been renovated to more modern standards. There are only a dozen of the old matchbox houses left. Clyde River is the only community in the NWT which still uses the original matchboxes for rental units. The Housing Corporation, as a result of the elimination of federal funds for new public housing, has had to amend its policy about replacing all northern rentals. A recent letter to all LHO's from the Housing Corporation's president outlined the new plans. All of the northern renters are being evaluated with particular emphasis on those home which still lack basic facilities like hot and cold running water. The Housing Corporation will renovate or replace all northern rentals in poor condition. The matchbox houses will be replaced with new homes in 1997/98 and 1998/99. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you. Returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Krutko.

Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6: oral questions. Mr. Enuaraq.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask a question first to the Minister of Housing, to Goo Arlooktoo. As it states here, what he just read regarding housing shortages in Clyde River and also 1998 and 1999. According to my way of understanding what the Minister said. Did he state that the matchboxes that are still left over, there are still seven, and also, are they going to be replaced? Is that his statement? (Translation ends)

The Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Arlooktoo.

(Translation) You understood my question. Those old houses in Clyde River, the so called matchboxes, they are in existence still because there is a great deal of shortage in housing in Clyde River. There are no more matchboxes in any other communities. Also, there is going to be a new house being built up to 1999, a smaller house. (Translation ends)

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Krutko.

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we commend them on their efforts, all alcohol and drug community workers in trying to upgrade their skills to provide services to all our constituents throughout the territories. We will be giving communities the flexibility by having the dollars at the community level or at the regional level if it is chosen to be held there to allow them to set their own priorities, and if training is one of those priorities outside of current funding, that would be available through the college, the Aurora and the Nunavut Arctic college program system that we have in place, then by all means if that is there priority they can, to complement those programs that the colleges offer then they would have the ability to do that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not have the specifics on the dollar amounts now. As I indicated, there will be some movement of dollars in the allocation dollars outside of Yellowknife to the regional level. It may be determined at that time that further dollars may be pushed out to the community levels, so that local municipal councils, band councils, local alcohol and drug organizations will have significantly more input into where they would see those dollars best being utilized, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would say that the actual specific dollars identified for training would be minimal. As it stands now in the whole scheme of the alcohol and drug funding provided through the Department of Health and Social Services, as you know, the focus has been on some of the treatment and the communities base programs. That is historically where this department has channelled their financial expenditures in that area, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I fully support what the Member is alluding to and the fact that the increased training of alcohol and drug workers is beneficial to all of us. We recognize that now. I am not trying to minimalize the question or the answer to the honourable Member. The fact is that the funding for training alcohol and drug workers specifically is not entirely held by the Department of Health and Social Services. The fact that I was trying to get to was that the Arctic college programs, both east and west, provide alcohol and drug training funds and they have students financial assistance programs that allow our constituents and the workers to access program dollars to upgrade their skills, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Miltenberger.

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

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Education, Culture, and Employment, the Honourable Charles Dent. The letter dated January 8, 1997, addressed to the District Education Authorities and Divisional Education Councils, the Minister outlined the terms under the new Education Act regarding principals who are already hired on indeterminate status. Section 63(1) of the Act requires principals to be hired on terms not exceeding five years. In this letter the Minister declared that all principals hired in indeterminate positions are notified that their status will end as of June 30, 1997, and they will then be deemed to be hired on a five year term, running from July 1, 1997, to June 30, 2002. My question for the Minister is: why are principals guaranteed positions for six years from the time the Act came into force?

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

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, now if I understand the Minister correctly, it would seem that this policy will go on after 1997 and of course if it goes on after 1997 the implication here is it goes on after April 1, 1999, to the year 2002. So can the Minister confirm to me that this government, then, in this new Act, is guaranteeing employment to the principals after the year 1999, the year 2000, the year 2001 and 2002, as outlined in his previous statement. Thank you.

Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Ootes.

The Minister responsible for Public Works and Services, Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker. No, not necessarily. A request for proposals, as I explained yesterday, is when the government has a specific job that it wants done but does not have all the details on how it should be done. What we do is, we send a call letter out asking for proposals which is different from a public tender contract, where we know exactly what needs to be done. A request for proposals could be on construction management proposal.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Arlooktoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A request for proposals could be on absolutely anything. We have had requests for proposals this past year on field contracting, on privatization of systems and computers, some housing projects. So, a request for proposals is just that. We are asking companies to submit plans and ideas, costing et cetera, on how they would do a specific job for the government to review.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, there are specific cases where the government does have some resources, some equipment, that it has for use on a specific project but requires the use of expertise to manage them. That is what it covers.

Thank you. Final supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, I really do not know. There are various construction projects, some of them large, that do have site superintendents or site managers and they could be called various things and called site superintendents.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Roland.

The Minister of Transportation. Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the information that the Honourable David Keenan, Minister of Transportation for Yukon, passed on to us in regards to the cost reduction exercises relating to the Dempster Highway, involves closures and seasonal staff reductions on the highway system. According to their proposal, during the spring break-up and during the fall freeze-up, there is about a period of maybe four weeks, four weeks in the spring and four weeks in the fall. As we all know, living in the north, we do not know exactly when the ice is going to break up in the spring and we do not know exactly when it is going to freeze up as well in the fall. So, trying to look at the times over the years, around what time these natural incidents happen, with that in mind, and working along with us, we will try to develop a more firm time with the Yukon Government. At this point in time, we do not have the exact time.

I think what the honourable Minister from the Yukon was trying to do, was pass on information to us that this is their intention of doing it. They are still not into their budget yet. I think they are still developing their budget. I think, in time, we will have firmer dates. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you. Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think the example where, a couple of days ago, when the Honourable Minister Keenan came down and the three MLAs from the Delta were invited, along with community leaders, should be an indication of the type of working together that I would like to see continue on as we deal with the Dempster situation. We will be keeping you very well informed as we move along. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Finance, Mr. Todd. It is concerning student summer employment. It is about the time of the year that we have to start thinking about employing as many students as we can, so that we can be prepared, by the time they get out of school. I know that, last year, we did not have as many job openings as we had wanted to. I know that the Finance Minister had indicated that he was going to try to improve the situation this year, so, I was wondering if the Finance Minister has, in fact, done anything so that we can get more students employed this year than last year.

Thank you. The Minister of Finance. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and a good question by my honourable colleague. Just a little history, if I may, for clarity's sake. If you remember when we were negotiating last year with the UNW, we indicated to them that we thought we could try to find a wage rate for students that was different from the normal civil servant, so that we could employ more students, not less. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, we could not get an agreement. We are, as I have said in the House before, as Mr. Dent has said, looking at an affirmative action policy and also looking at a northern job strategy. As part of that overall northern job strategy, we are also looking at, specifically, a program for students this summer. We are going to be, hopefully, bringing forward to the committee, the Government Ops Committee, both these papers to seek their input and direction on and get this thing under way, so that we can be up and running for the summer. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the strategy result in more jobs being available for students than there was last year?

Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is certainly our intention to do that. We hope to be able to get the resources from within and as I said, hopefully next week, we are going to have both these reports ready. We are going to be presenting to the Government Operations Committee, have a healthy dialogue at committee to try to get some consensus as to where we move forward and, I am optimistic and confident, that this summer we will be able to bring more students to the work force than we have in the past, based upon the cooperation and support we get from the Ordinary Members with respect to our overall job strategy and the affirmative action policy. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the problems that many students have from the small communities, is that there is no work in the communities. Often they have to come to Yellowknife, Hay River or Rankin Inlet, to a larger centre to work and they may not necessarily want to do that. Is it possible to provide, perhaps, some funding to the communities or some other means so that there are more jobs available in the communities, as well for summer students. Thank you.

Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our overall objective is to accomplish exactly that. It is going to take the energetic cooperation of the government committees and the Ministers, who are leading this, both myself and Mr. Dent. As I said to my colleague in answer to his last question, I am confident, if we move quickly and enthusiastically, we can get some changes into the system for implementation this summer.

Thank you. Oral questions. Final supplementary, Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday the Premier indicated there was no central agency for hiring people in Yellowknife. Is it possible to have a central agency for the students, so that we can be more properly coordinated in our efforts to make sure that they get their jobs?

Mr. Todd.

The details, as I say, have not really been worked out in terms of where we are going with this. We need to sit down with the committees. Plus Cabinet will ultimately have to approve some of the initiatives that we are considering right now. I think it would be fair to say that the general thrust, at least at this early stage, is for more of these things to be driven from the communities, rather than from the centre. So, it is a little early, at this time, to determine exactly what the deliberating stage will be but there will be adequate opportunity for the committee to give us advice and direction on that, as we proceed through this exercise, hopefully in March and April. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Steen.

Thank you. The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. Mr. Antoine.