Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. I would like to inform the House that the Member for Hay River, Mrs. Groenewegen, will be absent from the House for the next few days because of the death of her father, Mr. Robert Ostler. I would like to offer condolences on behalf of all Members to Mrs. Groenewegen and her family in this difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Deputy Premier, Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, I also would like to offer condolences, on behalf of the government, to Mrs. Groenewegen and her family on the death of her father. Our prayers and wishes are with her and her family. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Arlooktoo. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, as part of the Aboriginal Achievement Awards, 1000 aboriginal students from across Alberta were gathered in Calgary earlier this month for a career trade show. The 14 recipients of the achievement awards were asked to speak to the students about their lives, about issues important to them and, in some cases, to demonstrate their talents. Mr. Kiawak Ashoona constituent of mine from Cape Dorset who received an achievement award, was asked to demonstrate to these young people how he carves and to talk about how he is inspired to create something so beautiful from a piece of soapstone. The carving you see here in the Chamber today, is a result of that.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Arlooktoo. Members' statements. Ms. Thompson.

Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity late last week to participate in the 1997 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards in Calgary. As I previously mentioned, I was deeply moved by what I saw there. The celebration of achievements of the past and of the present gives me a lot of hope for the future of aboriginal people.

Mr. Speaker, since the achievement awards, I have been thinking a lot about what the future holds for the aboriginal people and, more specifically, about what lies ahead for Inuit with the creation of Nunavut. This is a time of great promise for us and for everyone who will be part of Nunavut. It is also a time when I believe we need to be careful about what we build and how we build it.

In this regard, Mr. Speaker, I have been disappointed by recent developments on the road to Nunavut. I have hesitated now for more than a week about commenting on recent statements made by the Chief Commissioner of the Nunavut Implementation Commission and by the President of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, about Members of this Assembly.

Mr. Amagoalik, who we all respect for the important role he has played in helping Nunavut move beyond idea to reality, made statements on CBC in late January in which he went out of his way to say that "Pudlanak tend to get confused. Some are very easily confused." He made this comment in relation to MLAs which, in my view, showed great disrespect for this Assembly and for our Members elected to serve here. This is very disappointing to me.

Mr. Speaker, as we move towards Nunavut, we must do what we can to make sure the foundation we construct our future on is strong. Attacking people on the basis of race and promoting intolerance can only weaken those foundations, and put at risk our future as a strong, tolerant and just society. Mr. Amagoalik knows full well that aboriginal people, including Inuit, have too often been on the wrong end of prejudice and racism. Mr. Speaker, I would like to conclude my statement.

The Member for Aivilik is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. Ms. Thompson, you have unanimous consent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Becoming the majority does not give us the right to abuse those who will find themselves in minority. For me, Mr. Speaker, it does exactly the opposite. We have an obligation to make sure Nunavut is a place where, if we are to be intolerant of anything, it must be of intolerance itself. Similar comments were made by the President of NTI in an interview on TVNC in which he referred to "white people being increasingly very protective of one another." Those remarks may have been less blunt, but they were equally disturbing.

Mr. Speaker, no group of people thinks entirely alike. I, for example, frequently disagree with what I hear from Mr. Amagoalik and Mr. Kusugak. Perhaps this will lead to me also being dismissed as confused. So be it. But I offer this caution. Whenever political leaders depersonalize individuals or groups of people, they play a very dangerous game. If we truly want to do things differently in Nunavut, it is a game we cannot afford to play. I want to add, Mr. Speaker, that if Mr. Amagoalik wants to be taken seriously on issues like gender equality, he must be fully committed to all aspects of equality. No lower standard will be acceptable.

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, I was reluctant to raise these issues but, after thinking about it for more than a week, I concluded that something needed to be said. May I say that I, one day, hope to see Mr. Amagoalik and Mr. Kusugak walk across the stage of the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards in recognition of their genuine lifetime achievements. This is more likely to happen if they return to the standard to which of all of us should be firmly committed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Ms. Thompson. Members' statements. Mr. Krutko.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we all know that in 1999 the Northwest Territories will be divided with the establishment of Nunavut and a new western territory. As division approaches, we know that a considerable amount of work remains to be done. With that in mind, I want to take a few moments today to address some important issues of particular relevance to Nunavut.

Mr. Speaker, the Nunavut Caucus and the Premier will be travelling to Cambridge Bay this weekend to participate in a Nunavut Leaders' Summit. This meeting has been called to discuss a number of issues that need to be resolved so that we can move ahead in our planning for Nunavut. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to this meeting. Not only because it permits me the opportunity to travel to my home constituency during session, but it also gives us an opportunity to clear the air on several fronts, including the following: we need to make an effort to find consensus on the government design, we need to decide on the nature of the Nunavut Legislative Assembly, we need to determine how we can ensure the long term fiscal stability of Nunavut and finally, and in my mind most importantly, we need to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the programs and services that will have to sustain post division.

In recent weeks we have had the benefit of receiving the NIC report, Footprints Two; a GNWT response to that report; an NTI response and, most recently, a letter from the federal DIAND Minister, Mr. Irwin, that comments on elements of that report. All of this is useful because it gives us the opportunity to see where various parties are coming from. In that spirit, I want to set out my thoughts on issues that in my view have not yet received sufficient attention.

Mr. Speaker, like others in this House, I look forward to the day when Nunavut becomes reality and, like others, I am committed to seeing that happen early in 1999. However, I am concerned that many people have become so preoccupied with the design of government and bureaucracies that we are failing to dedicate similar levels of energy and attention to the issues that should more appropriately demand our attention. It may well be that the role that I currently find myself in as Minister of Health, Social Services and Justice has an impact on my thinking and on my priorities. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member for Kitikmeot is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Ng, you have unanimous consent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, honourable colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I believe that we need to move beyond playing around with what government should look like in favour of concentrating our energies on what government should do. The Nunavut government design may be of great interest to lawyers, consultants, and political academics. However, I find it surprising, given clear evidence of extra-ordinary forced growth pressures on spending, particularly in the social envelope, that we continue to spend so much time on how to elect a Premier and whether we should have two Member constituencies.

Mr. Speaker, I believe we need to focus on the painfully obvious indicators of unstable social conditions such as poor health status, extreme housing needs, high rates of suicide, substance abuse, violent crime and incarceration. These issues are the ones which will end up managing or consuming us if we choose to ignore them. Mr. Speaker, I do not want anyone to take my comments to mean that I am not serious about the need to deal with government design.

For example, I support the principal of decentralization, but I do so based on an expectation that plans for decentralization must be based on models that are not only effective, but are also affordable and efficient. I am less concerned about the number of departments created than I am about whether proposed plans will result in a government capable of delivering the programs and services that are essential to people in our communities. Mr. Speaker, without good planning and long term fiscal security, we will find it difficult to achieve that fundamental objective. I believe if we separate related departments, particularly in the social envelope, we will be moving backwards rather than forward.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to summarize by saying, yes, let us reach a consensus on a government design for Nunavut, but more importantly, let us not forget that our priority, our ultimate goal and our responsibility as leaders is to ensure that the new government can effectively deliver affordable programs and services to our constituents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ng. Members' statements. Mr. Barnabas.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be speaking in Inuktitut. Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to talk about the selection of a jury. Mr. Speaker, we have a concern in my constituency on the selection of a jury. When the sheriff collects names, he has a lot of power. In smaller communities, a lot of people are related to each other. Some cannot read and write Inuktitut and English. They have to respond in writing to the sheriff's office. If they do not appear, they are charged for not appearing. I will be asking questions to the Minister on this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends).

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for the past 18 months we have struggled to address the fiscal problems facing us. Most Members of this House believe that you should not spend more than you have. I agreed with this when I was elected and I still believe that it is a sound philosophy now. As people worry about how bad things are, I want to remind everyone of how much better off we are than most other jurisdictions.

Mr. Speaker, across Canada, governments have been cutting programs and downsizing trying to bring their spending under control. Seldom is there a day that goes past that we do not hear a story from one province or another about facility closures or program reductions. Unlike our southern counterparts, we are not spending a big chunk of our budget paying interest for our debts. The amount other places spend in interest to service their debt is scary. For example, Nova Scotia has a budget of $4.5 billion. They spend almost 20 percent of that on interest payments. Prince Edward Island, the smallest province in Canada spends 15 percent or $121 million of their $800 million budget on interest. Last year this government spent under $3 million on interest costs. Other jurisdictions have had to slash their capital budget to bring costs down. New Brunswick put a freeze on any new capital projects, while Nova Scotia cut their capital spending by 44 percent.

While we have had to make some reductions in capital, we have managed to keep the majority of our capital in place. Yes, we have had a difficult couple of years here in the NWT, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The contributions of all the people of the Northwest Territories have put us in good shape for the years to come.

Not only have we cut, but we have also introduced initiatives designed to start addressing the cause of some of our social problems. We would take comfort that we took control of our fiscal situation before it ran away on us.

Unlike the provinces, we do not have to give our dollars to the banks and interest payments. In years to come, we can focus our energy and dollars on making a better life for all the residents of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what does Nunavut mean? It means our land, our place. This is the meaning of Nunavut. There was a vote on division in the north and the majority of the people voted for division so that they can have self-government. They expected to have better employment and better programs. The problem was the operation from a far headquarters such as Ottawa and Yellowknife. We wanted to solve these problems. They have expected to get better jobs and have trained for division. I know that there are a lot of young people that are getting an education to prepare for Nunavut and are appreciated by their parents, so that they can run their region on their own. I know that we will have public government. We have expected to start running the government. I know that there are a lot of social problems, probably because of low employment. So, I want people to remember that there will be people that will need jobs. I would like to have capable employees and I would like to see the Nunavut government run properly, but I want people to remember the people of Nunavut. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends).

-- Applause.

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

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a few days ago I made a statement about how the communities of Detah and Ndilo are often overlooked for funding because they are next to Yellowknife. I would like to expand on that a little bit.

Mr. Speaker, recreation is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle and the GNWT is one of the partners in promoting active living. It is common sense that recreation is a positive way to fill leisure time. It is a great example as opposed to hanging around on alcohol and drugs. A super example of this is the young people from Rae-Edzo. With the guidance of a dedicated coach, they have focused their energies on soccer and they are now travelling to Europe. They dominate the soccer tournaments they take part in. This athletic ability has transferred over to basketball, as evidenced in the tournament that they participated in here in Yellowknife last weekend.

Mr. Speaker, the teenagers and young people of Ndilo and Detah need the same opportunity. They do not have adequate recreation facilities. They do have a community hall, of course, for meetings, recreation, and other community activities, but there is not enough space. I must admit that it is better than nothing, but most communities in the NWT have a skating rink, which makes sense with our long winters. It is great for skating, hockey, speed skating, broom ball. There is a lot of opportunities for all ages and interests. Unfortunately, Detah and Ndilo do not have a rink.

Most people cannot afford to use the facilities in Yellowknife. This is due to transportation costs and most people cannot afford to have a vehicle. User fees, of course, are exorbitant and the Arctic Winter Games, mere pipe dreams, Mr. Speaker. A rink would give the youth another way to focus their energies, a gathering place and a way to promote good health. Mr. Speaker, the youth in Ndilo and Detah need the same opportunities as those in other small communities across the north. They should not be penalized for being next door to the city of Yellowknife. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Erasmus. Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Mr. Dent.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity today to recognize Ms. Shelly Huckster. Now, all of you may find this surprising, but this charming young lady, believe it or not, is the mommy of my executive assistant, Richard Bargery. With Ms. Huckster is Ms. June Puts, and Ms. Puts, Mr. Picco is not here, is visiting from Springdale, Newfoundland. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize half of my family here in this building. Up in the gallery is my daughter Valarie Enuaraq and my son Andrew Enuaraq. Also in this building is my wife, Elizapino, and my other daughter, Janet Enuaraq, and my other son, Norman Enuaraq. Thank you.

-- Applause

Welcome to the Assembly. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. Mr. Krutko.

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

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

Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Barnabas.

Qujannamiik. As I mentioned in my Member's statement earlier, my question is to the Minister responsible for Justice, the Honourable Kelvin Ng. In many small communities, many people have lots of relatives. When there is a need for jury trial in the community, it can be very hard to find people who are not related to an accused in some way. Does the department, through the sheriff's office, decide who gets called for jury duty? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Barnabas.

Sorry, Mr. Speaker. How does the department, through the sheriff's office, decide who gets called for jury duty? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister of Justice. Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe that jury summonses are chosen at random from the community. Individuals are summoned to court to hear whether or not they would be eligible to sit on a jury. If there are conflicts because of being related, either to the victim or the accused, then those types of issues are brought forward at the initial discussions with jurors to excuse those that may be in those conflict of interest situations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Many people in my area have English as a second language. Are the summonses for jury duty translated into Inuktitut in the eastern Arctic communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not certain whether or not the summonses are translated. I can find out that information and advise the honourable Member. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. People can be confused when they get official documents from the court. There is often a need to explain what they are getting, that is, a summons for jury duty rather than something that says they have to be in court themselves. How are the summons for jury duty given to people? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding in a majority of communities right now, that the RCMP act in that capacity to deliver summonses and serve them upon potential jurors. To my recollection, I know in my communities that they try to make sure that, if there is a unilingual individual involved, there is somebody in the household that understands what is being served and explains the process to the prospective individuals that are receiving those summonses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Mr. Rabesca.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as you know, it has been some time since we heard about the NWTHC needs survey. My communities and the rest of the communities in the Northwest Territories might be interested in finding out when this survey will be completed and when the figures from the latest survey be used to determine the needs for all the communities. With this in mind, Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, has this needs survey been completed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. The Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation. Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, the survey is very near completion and we hope to provide Members of the Assembly with copies of, not only the survey, but of our analysis sometime towards the end of March.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to follow up on some questions that I was attempting to ask yesterday with the Minister of Education before I was cut off by the clock. I asked the Minister, Mr. Dent, a question concerning day cares and subsidies. My question was, when was the last time the child care subsidy had been increased for day cares in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, having been the president of the Iqaluit Childcare Association, I am familiar with the subsidies and how it works. Can the Minister update me as to that process with the day care subsidies per child? What is the amount per child for day care?

Mr. Dent.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that. On the ongoing cost contributions to day cares, if a particular day care finds itself in financial difficulty, through no fault of its own, I wonder if there is money available, through the contribution agreements through Education, Culture and Employment, to help out that day care? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. My question is directed to the honourable Minister of Transportation. Mr. Speaker, this is in regards to the airport runway extension in Taloyoak. This is not a new issue and I do not think I have to take that much time to explain the purpose of why we need the extension in the runway. This has been provided to the honourable Minister on a number of occasions. I believe the Minister has the information as to why we need the runway. During the beginning of the session, I asked the same question and the honourable Minister indicated, at that time, that he would communicate with his federal counterpart and come back to me at a later time. My question is, what is the status of the request of the Hamlet of Taloyoak to extend the runway? The extension needed is only 400 feet. I understand the projected cost by this government is in the neighbourhood of $600,000. The community is willing, Mr. Speaker, to see the extension happen. The community is saying that they could do it at a much lesser cost. What is the status of their request? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister of Transportation. Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a request that was made earlier in the session. This is similar to other requests in regards to the extension of the airport. As I indicated earlier, this request is pretty hard to accommodate because of the budget restraint that this department has undergone. We are going to be getting into the details of it later on. It is going to indicate that we are going to be dealing with all these different issues in regards to airport extensions. In this particular case, I have met with the representatives of Taloyoak and the MLA, and our position is still the same. It would be very difficult to accommodate this request at this time. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, supplementary to the same honourable Minister. One of the associated costs to the proposed project was that the runway has to be widened in order to be extended. It is my understanding, Mr. Speaker, that the runway does not have to be widened at this time. Mr. Speaker, my supplementary is, did the Minister communicate with his federal counterpart? When I asked him, he indicated he was going to. Has he had any communication?

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not think that we have communicated with the Transport Minister unless someone in the department has. Normally, in some of these requests, somebody in the department will do some preliminary contacts. If this is the case, I will get back to the honourable Member with whatever kind of communication that may have taken place. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the safety of the public and the potential for lives in that situation is also penalized. In the winter and summer as well, we depend upon aircraft for medical evacuation. A number of things are penalized because of the change in the regulations of the federal government. Will the Minister communicate with his federal counterpart and indicate to him that, in fact, the safety of the public is penalized and the safety of people, who are in very life-threatening situations is penalized because we depend on air travel for medical evacuation? Thank you.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department has had contacts with the Minister of Transportation of the federal government in regard to the changes in their regulations. As you know, we have mentioned this before, the regulations have been changed throughout Canada, so that the actual airport and the amount of take-off that you need has been reduced somewhat in regard to the regulation. In the north here, we have a reprieve until the year 2010. We do not have to comply to the new regulations. However, it is a safety factor and we are very concerned about it. There have been communications with the federal department in regard to those regulations, and in regards to what the honourable Member is saying about the safety that is a factor here in the north. As I said, one of the main objectives of the department is that we have a safe transportation system. We will continue to communicate with our federal counterpart in this regard. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Miltenberger.

The Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. Mr. Kakfwi.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Kakfwi.

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

Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question will be to the Premier. I spoke today in my Member's statement about two initiatives taken by this government with the support, encouragement and insistence of the Ordinary Members. My question to the Premier is, Mr. Speaker, will the government in the future when they are making Ministers' statements talk about the government initiatives giving more information and comparison about what other jurisdictions are doing? I think it is important to look outside of ourselves to see how we are actually doing here. I think it would be important for the public of the Northwest Territories to know how we are doing and what we doing in comparison to other jurisdictions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will undertake to make sure that Ministers, when they are preparing their Ministers' statements, look at reflecting on what other jurisdictions are doing so that the general public in the Northwest Territories know how well they do have it in the Northwest Territories compared to southern jurisdictions. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you. The Minister of Public Works and Services. Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, no. It is not the trend. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Ootes.

Mr. Arlooktoo.

Mr. Speaker, as I understand it, a decision has not been made about the Sanikiluaq air terminal building. But I will check with the Minister of Transportation to see exactly where it is at in the process.