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

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Jim Antoine and the Honourable Stephen Kakfwi will be late in arriving into the House as they are presently attending a funeral here in Yellowknife.

Thank you. Ministers' statements. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to advise this House that as part of the upcoming Cabot 500 celebration being held in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, a group of Iqaluit athletes and cultural performers have been invited to participate in the Labrador Winter Games being held in Goose Bay, March 17th to 22nd. Mr. Patrick Tagoona, President of the NWT Arctic Sports Association, has assumed the responsibility for organizing the team that will participate in this event. With the contribution of $15,000 from the Goose Bay Hosts Society towards the total charter costs of $19,000 and local fund raising, he and other volunteers have been able to raise the necessary finances to attend this event. Each participant is also being asked to pay a $75 registration fee which will go to offset the costs for meals and accommodations at the games. The nine male and nine female athletes will be participating in target shooting, northern games, the labyrinth, snowshoe races, snowmobile races, ball hockey, volleyball, darts and table tennis. The athletes will compete along with 500 other representatives from the 31 communities in Labrador.

In addition to the athletes, a cultural contingent will also be travelling to the games. The cultural contingent will include two drum dancers, two throat singers and four Arctic sport demonstrators as well as four people who will take part in a fashion show. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to wish the athletes every success in Labrador at the 1997 Labrador Winter Games. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon, colleagues. At this time, Mr. Speaker, I have some happy news to present concerning some work that has been going on in Pangnirtung which concerns the Pangnirtung Fisheries and Cumberland Fisheries Limited. They had an excellent productive month in both December and November. They hired 49 employees and contributed approximately $93,000 directly into wages for the people of Pangnirtung. At this time, Mr. Speaker, this is extremely good news. It confirms and shows how hardworking the people of Pangnirtung are. At this time, I would also like to say that the Pangnirtung Fisheries and the employees have worked hard in continuing the fisheries. I am very proud of their achievement. They must receive assistance from Fisheries and Oceans by the federal government and I hope that they continue to receive this support. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

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

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

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to bring an issue to the House that has never really been much of a problem until this winter. For the past many years residents from across the southern Great Slave Lake area have come to Yellowknife to stock up on caribou for their families, friends and communities. This has never been much of a problem. However, this year with the lack of caribou on the Gordon Lake winter road, this hunting traffic has discovered the winter road system that goes from Rae-Edzo north to Colomac Mines and other Dogrib communities. The increased traffic brings concerns to my people. We are not told who is hunting and how much caribou this group is taking back to their communities. There is also more wasted meat from some irresponsible hunters. All of this has a direct impact on the populations of this herd. We do not want our caribou depleted.

Fortunately, both the Rae Band Councils and the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development have been working closely together to find solutions that will help protect this valuable resource and still provide the needed meat for the people. It has been decided to maintain monitoring stations that will be sponsored by the Band Councils, and will have direct contact with Resources staff in case problems occur. With the co-operation of these two groups, it is anticipated that staff from the Yellowknife office will be making occasional trips on this road system to ensure all rules and regulations are followed. We realize that people want their caribou, but at the same time the hunters should follow all necessary regulations, and should have some consideration to respect this valuable resource. Mr. Speaker, at the opportune time I will be asking the Minister responsible questions regarding this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Rabesca. Members' statements. Mr. Roland.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have been looking for ways to be more efficient and to make better use of resources since we came to this Assembly. I believe we have overlooked an opportunity right under our noses. We all know that one of the challenges of governing the NWT is the tremendous distances between communities. Every year this government spends thousands of dollars on travel, both for government employees on business and medical travel. The government has taken steps to limit travel wherever possible. However, it is a fact of life in doing business in the north. Travel is always going to be necessary for those with medical needs which cannot be met in their communities.

I believe there is another way to save money on travel, through the use of the frequent flier program. Many of us have experienced the benefits of frequent flier programs. We take a trip and, in the process, gain points towards a free trip. Right now, people travelling on a ticket purchased by the government are able to accumulate frequent flier points for that travel. In other jurisdictions, the government has found ways to accumulate the travel points from employees on duty travel. They can use these points for travel awards which can be used for other government business travel. It is estimated using frequent flier points represents a possible savings of between five and ten percent of the cost of air travel. Mr. Speaker, for every $5 million we spend on medical or duty travel, we could save up to $500,000 by pooling frequent flier points earned from duty and other government travel.

Mr. Speaker, other jurisdictions are finding ways to spread their travel dollars further through the frequent flier point system. This is too easy and obvious for our government, which relies so heavily on air travel, to ignore. I encourage the government to investigate this opportunity and, at the appropriate time, I will be asking the Minister some questions on this later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Henry. Members' statements. Mrs. Groenewegen.

The Member for Hay River is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. Mrs. Groenewegen, you have unanimous consent.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Members' statements. Mr. Barnabas.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Translation ends) In response to an alarming number of suicide attempts in Arctic Bay, the Suicide Prevention Committee of Arctic Bay was created. This committee is made up of teachers, nurses and health care workers. In September, 1995, a suicide was committed and it affected everyone deeply. Soon afterwards, a number of high school drama students decided they wanted to create a play which would address the issue of suicide in a frank and hard-hitting manner. Under the auspices of the Suicide Prevention Committee, the GNWT wellness grant was applied for, in which the students would create and perform a play called "This House has Many Rooms". From that point onward, it is the group of students, not the committee, which is important here. The play was a tremendous success. The reaction of the home community was overwhelming. The theatre company received the same response in Igloolik. The voices of the young actors and actresses in the company struck a powerful chord with the audience. The message of suicide prevention and awareness was delivered strongly and with a great deal of feeling. Something only a live, theatrical performance could achieve. Afterwards, the actors mixed with the audience in a powerful display of emotion and healing. Word of the Kicking Caribou Theatre Company's success reached the CBC and a documentary was shot in Arctic Bay for CBC North.

This year, the theatre company has a new play. It is called, "What is the matter, Mary Jane?" This is a much more challenging play in terms of stage craft and it explores the life of troubled young teenage girls and men. 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. Mr. Barnabas, you have unanimous consent.