Thank you, Mr. Ng. Before we proceed with orders of the day, I have a little message here. I would like to inform the House of the unfortunate absence of the Speaker. The Honourable Sam Gargan, due to an illness in the family, had to return home to Fort Providence. I understand that he hopes to be back in the House tomorrow. I trust you will be kind to me today, as I try and fill in as your Speaker. Thank you. Mr. Miltenberger.

Point of Privilege

Mr. Miltenberger, point of privilege.

Point of privilege.

Thank you. We have one point of privilege. The Member for Thebacha is raising a point of privilege. Once the Member for Thebacha has concluded the point of privilege, I will recognize Mr. Picco. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member mentioned, in a veiled way, my earlier response last week on a question to another Minister concerning spousal assault homes. Mr. Speaker, he has infringed upon my rights as a Member, the Member for Thebacha, in his statement, and I would ask the Speaker to rule that he would strike anything from the record infringing on my privilege as a Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger has raised a point of privilege to a statement that he made Friday and Mr. Picco has requested a point of privilege to allow the debate on the point of privilege on Mr. Picco. To the point of privilege, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the point of privilege that I raised, I think, was a good one, in that the point of privilege was in response to Mr. Miltenberger's point of privilege on the point of privilege which was a point of privilege. And my point, Mr. Speaker, was well taken by the Members of this House, and that was the Member had a veiled reference to me, when I asked a question to the Minister of Health and Social Services on funding cuts and wage cuts, and the increases to such, on behalf of the dedicated, front-line employees that we had working in spousal assault homes. I do not think, in his return, that he should have mentioned in passing and he infringed on my privileges, as a Member, when he made that statement.

Thank you, Mr. Picco. To the point of privilege, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. To the point of privilege, Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Miltenberger makes a good point because, over the last few days, I have been questioning libraries. As a person who holds a library card, am I in a conflict? I think his point is well-taken and I would respect your ruling tout suite. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Any further point of privilege? Madam Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to rise on point of privilege today with respect to Mr. Miltenberger's remarks in this House. If Mr. Miltenberger feels that he said something on Friday that he should not have said, he has every opportunity to stand up and retract those and apologize for them. He does not need to try and implicate everyone else or other Members of this House in his mistake. I do take exception to him referring to the business incentive policy and people who may have a spouse that owns a business. I not only have a spouse that owns a business, I also own a business and I believe that he is misleading this House, by suggesting that all business deals need to take place in an arm's length fashion.

In fact, if you refer to the Conflict of Interest Act, it says: "When a member or a spouse or dependent child of a member, has significant, private interests that afford the member, or the spouse or dependent child of the member, the opportunity to directly or indirectly benefit from the performance of any of the duties of their office, they are in conflict." I would like to suggest that Mr. Miltenberger, by his comments, not on a territorial basis, but in reference to Fort Smith specifically and community libraries specifically on Friday, was probably over the line, and he can stand up and he can speak about that and he can retract that, but he does not need to implicate the rest of us by talking about the business incentive policy, which is truly territorial.

He does not need to refer to Members of this House, who may have a loan with the government because he is trying to implicate us all. I do not appreciate that and I do feel he has infringed on my integrity by his remarks. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you. I am advised that now we have two points of privilege here. We have a new point of privilege to be raised, I will reserve ruling and provide it to the House. Thank you.

Mr. Morin, thank you. The Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just on the point of privilege, while you are looking at the whole issue under point of privilege and reviewing Hansard, I would request you, at the same time, to review the Member from Hay River's statement. I may not have heard it very correctly but it is my understanding that the general public have available to them, as well as Members of this Legislative Assembly, a process if they feel a Member is in conflict with his duties and that process is through the Conflict Commissioner's office, not to make unfounded accusations across the floor of the House. So that is basically what I am requesting you look at. Thank you.

Thank you. The Speaker will be ruling on the point of privileges made in this House. By that matter, we will be checking the Hansard tomorrow. Thank you. If there are no further points of privilege, I have item 2, Ministers' statements. Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the health and social services system in the Northwest Territories is in need of fundamental reform. As our population grows, the demands placed on the system grow as well. But at the same time, the resources available for meeting that need have been declining. We need to make changes now, to make sure that the health and social services system of the future will be able to meet northerners' continuing needs. This is essential, if we are to maintain and improve the services offered to our residents in the face of shrinking financial resources.

Reform has to be planned and strategic. We need to make changes for the future now, while still meeting the needs of today.

During the development of the 1997/98 business plan, the Department of Health and Social Services received approval to begin the process of strategic reform. We have done this by committing to a principle-based approach and by beginning to work with our partners in the health care system towards the development of a comprehensive, strategic plan.

The strategic plan will give us a vision of the health and social services system of the future and will show us the steps that must be taken to get there.

In his budget address, last week, my colleague, the Honourable Mr. Todd, referenced this strategic planning process, which will provide the basis for the future development of two, sustainable health care systems.

We are committed to a broad and timely public consultation as an integral part of this process. We need to hear from people across the north about what is important to them, about their expectations and needs and about their ideas on how we can reform the system to meet our goals.

In order to prepare fully for such a public consultation, we must first complete a comprehensive analysis of the current system and a detailed assessment of the challenges facing us and the options facing us. In doing this, we also need to take into consideration the extensive work done by the regional boards, especially the needs assessments already completed. We need to build on the work already done by both board and departmental staff.

To help us with the task of integrating our knowledge and experience into a comprehensive and accurate strategic plan, while still allowing staff to continue their essential work of program delivery, the Department of Health and Social Services has taken the step of contracting with a multi-disciplinary group of health and social services specialists.

This consultant group, Med-Emerg International Incorporated, will provide us with an objective look at the data we have collected. They will review the work we have already done on health and social services reform, identify any information gaps, and ensure that our conclusions are logical and consistent with other initiatives at the territorial, provincial, and federal levels of government.

A team from Med-Emerg will begin visits to the NWT during the next two weeks. They will be meeting with employees of the department and boards, our partners, and our clients. In the weeks following, Med-Emerg will review the data and prepare a draft strategic directions document, which will serve as the basis for the plan to be taken to broad public consultation beginning this summer.

To guide the strategic planning process, I am chairing a steering committee comprised of the chairs of the Baffin and Inuvik Regional Health Boards and the chair of the Northwest Territories Health Care Association.

Mr. Speaker, we need to move quickly to develop this new health and social services system. The benefits of health system reform will take years to realize.

One of the challenges we face is ensuring the infrastructure which supports the provision of public health services. Adequate funding is essential for construction of appropriate facilities. However, this is only one very small part of the total health and social services system.

As my honourable colleague, the Minister of Finance noted, simply increasing funding for social programs is not a long-term solution for the future of the health and social services system. Steps must be taken now to reduce future needs for our services. Through the steps we have taken, the Department of Health and Social Services is moving to develop a health and social services system that will continue to meet the basic needs of northerners for years to come.

In doing this, we are committed to an approach that upholds and builds on the principles of the Canada Health Act - universality, portability, comprehensiveness, accessibility, and public administration - and truly reflects the needs and aspirations of northerners.

By fall of this year, we hope to have a completed strategic plan that will serve as the basis for the development of effective, sustainable health and social services systems in two territories well into the next century.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to consulting further with all of you as we move forward with this plan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ng. Ministers' statements. Mrs. Manitok Thompson. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the World Winter University Games were held recently in Muju, South Korea. I would like to congratulate two NWT biathlon athletes on their strong showing at this competition. Mary-Beth Miller of Yellowknife, was the top Canadian in the women's 7.5 kilometre biathlon, finishing 26th, with a total time of 30 minutes, 36.2 seconds. Moira Green of Hay River, finished 30th in the 7.5 kilometre biathlon, with a time of 40 minutes, 27.2 seconds.

These two young women are also excellent role models for our youth in the NWT through their devotion they have shown to their sport and the many hours they have dedicated to training to achieve success at both the national and international level. They are examples of what our youth are capable of.

Members may remember that both of these athletes were also part of the biathlon team that represented the NWT at the 1995 Canada Games, winning a bronze medal in the relay event.

We should also recognize the support that these elite athletes have received and continue to receive from their parents and their fellow team members, which has assisted them in getting to the level that they are at today.

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that Members will join me in congratulating Mary-Beth Miller and Moira Green for their fine performances in biathlon at the World Winter University Games. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause