Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, some of the recommendations have been taken into consideration in this initiative by the government. Not all can be addressed by one initiative of the government. It means that some other departments have to respond as well to those recommendations of that panel. But private sector people have told us that there are many people that could be employable in the Northwest Territories if proper training was done, as well as our young people have to have the opportunity to get work experience and we are trying to do that. Not only has the Premier's Panel advised that, but many of the territorial residents as well as Members of the Legislative Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Like any other document, this initiative will be passed on and given to the Premier's Panel. It will also be given to all our metis locals, band councils, Inuvialuit Development Corporations, all our

hamlet councils, our local organizations, as well as copies in general to the general public. So everybody knows what we were doing and that is the way to communicate so that is how we will do it.

Thank you. Yes. For sure, as well as all our aboriginal organizations like the Dene Nation, NTI, as well as the rest. Everybody on the mailing list will get a copy.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I wanted to comment a bit on some comments that I heard other Members make in the past couple of days.

First of all, in regards to the Investing In People initiative. Investing In People is adult basic education, or upgrading. The intent of this particular investment is to put part-time or full-time adult education coordinators in the small communities that do not currently have them, including three in the Inuvik region, Tsiigehtchic, Paulatuk, and Sachs Harbour. Another three in the Sahtu region. Another four in the North Slave region. Five in the Deh Cho region. Three in the South Slave region. Yet, it seems as though some MLAs are saying they do not want people, these communities, to get these. It is hard for me to understand that because education prepares people for jobs. When people are educated, they have more of a choice in what type of a job that person gets. But, it is not only preparing people for jobs. It also improves their lifestyle. It is a fact that in general, educated people are healthier, they have higher employment rates, in other words, it is easier to get a job, and they are not as poor as those less educated and generally they have less children.

In simple terms, educating adults saves us money. We are talking about less social assistance, lower health care costs, and also less education costs in the future, that is because educated people's children are more likely to succeed in school themselves. First, once a person is educated, they can help their own children with homework. After all, it is pretty hard to help your kid with something like fractions if you have never heard of fractions. Secondly, educated people seem to place a higher emphasis on education. Again, I am talking in general. Also, if your children see you getting educated, they grow up expecting to do it themselves. In fact, my child is only 10 years old and he is already talking about which university he is going to go to because he has seen myself and my wife and my oldest son all going to university.

I also heard people complaining about others taking more than one course. I do not hear any complaints about people getting doctorate degrees. In fact, people with doctorates are quite respected. It takes around 19 years to get a doctorate degree. First, you have to graduate from junior high, then you have to get a high school diploma. Then you have to get a bachelor's degree. Then a master's degree and only then, a doctorate. Yet, some people here would seem to begrudge people because they take two or three different courses. Why? In today's job market you need to be versatile. People taking more courses should be applauded. It takes courage to go back to school as an adult. I know because I went back to school as an adult. It is very difficult to stop going to school and go back to work and then back to school again. Very difficult. You have to quit your job, you do not know if you are going to get another job when you come back. You do not know if you are going to have housing when you come back, if you are renting. That is why I always encourage people to take more schooling while they are currently in school. I say people should not complain about others taking too many courses unless they have gone back to school as an adult themselves. Unless they know what it is like to not be able to get a job because they are not trained. Others say that it is not government's place to find ways to get people employed. I disagree. I believe it is government's job to train people. The federal government is currently getting out of training. Every day it is more and more on our shoulders to improve the opportunities for jobs. We need to try to help businesses, the first nations, the metis locals, and the municipalities put more people to work. After all, it is our people out there who are unemployed. It is our responsibility. It is not only our responsibility though, it makes good economic sense.

People also talked about mega-projects such as road construction and mines. Those things are all right, but you need trained people to work on mega-projects. What happens if someone is already trained in an area but they need further training to work on a mega-project. Do we reject an application because this person already received some training at Arctic College or Aurora College? Also, mega-projects are not the only solution. The Northern Employment Strategy Program is to help people with community empowerment. Cost shared dollars for community empowerment to implement community justice, to work at the friendship centres, at the band offices, or the metis locals. There are many opportunities there to supplement the funding and to get programs running better or simply to provide office experience. Then I also heard something about women taking cooking classes. I commend women for going out and taking cooking classes. They are taking a step to get their own job. Many of them have not worked before and they have raised children. Now they want to get into the work force. You do not learn commercial cooking at home. Cooking classes help people to learn all kinds of new things. They learn to cook in camp settings, for crews and you do not learn this overnight. Many times you have to go more than once. It is the same as anything else. If you are an apprentice, you have to go more than once. You usually go four years. Cooking should not be any different, although I am not a cook myself. I am assuming that. I have known people to take more than one course. They told me they were learning something new each time.

There was talk of people painting fences in cemeteries over and over. Madam Chair, the committee that worked on this does not want students or anybody to paint things over and over. Cabinet certainly is not looking at that. We are not talking about make-work projects. For the most part, they should be meaningful jobs, helping people to get office experience. Helping people complete community initiatives. Once again, as I mentioned before, we have instituted many initiatives which could cost-share dollars in the area, particularly of community empowerment, community justice, friendship centres, band offices and metis locals. All these organizations are crying for extra assistance because money has been cut.

A Northern Employment Strategy Program would assist these organizations and municipalities with cost-shared dollars. Madam Chair, there is one area that has been overlooked and I think could be looked at. The MLA offices could certainly provide people with good experience, job experience as well as learning opportunities about the government and currently the cost-shared dollars, from what I see of it, would not allow an MLA to cost-share their dollars in order to provide opportunities for students or others to work in their offices for short period of time to give them office experience, that type of thing. I would encourage the Cabinet to look at that.

With that Madam Chair, I thank you for the opportunity to make my comments.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I like what I heard from other Members of this Assembly. I like what I read in this particular Minister's statement 77-13(4). I believe there is an enthusiasm from the Members of this House. I believe the Ministers and a certain Minister, the lead Minister in this case, have created something that most of us in the NWT were hoping for during the last two years. We talked about reductions and so on. The people in our communities are getting tired of it. What are you going to do next? Are there going to be any further cut backs?

I believe Madam Chair, when we talk about unemployment, social problems, crimes, abuse of many things we never thought would happen a few years back. Madam Chair, I believe what other members have said. We should get into construction, utilize the mining, utilize those people who have training in the area of equipment operations. I believe when people talk about getting further education.

Madam Chair there are times when we shy away from(inaudible) of what the majority of the people in my area are able to do. All the people in my area want to be in the mining industry. Not every one was trained to be an equipment operator. Not everyone wants to work in the construction field. There are those people that were born on the land, raised on the land. I am talking about those people who are in their 50s, 60s, 70s, still very capable of being independent. To retain their pride, to be able to support their family by hunting and trapping. I believe this government hears the message, hears the outcry from the public, from those people who once were proud. Once were able to maintain their own identity in their own area in things that they were able to do by supporting their family - hunting and trapping. Why do we shy away from promoting the trapping industry? Not everyone I stated, Madam Chair, wants to work in the construction field. Not everyone wants to work in the mining industry. Not everyone is able to work from 9 to 5 as an office person. Not everyone, Madam Chair wants to go into a classroom and learn. I am talking about those people who are 55 or 60. They are capable. They have something to offer. Why are we telling them - I do not think they want to be able to live off social assistance. I have never seen anyone who has gone to the Social Services Office, those who are 55 and 60. I have never seen anyone saying "I cannot find a job in this community." There are no jobs in the community. Not everyone is able to - those very few jobs we have in the community, there is a very low turnover. If you get a job in the community, Madam Chair, you have to hang on to that job. You have to, otherwise if you quit, get fired or laid off, there is no other alternative in a small community other than going to the Social Services Office. Those people who have their education, who have to a degree, some ability to read and write, who have some initial training, want to keep their job in the community. What about those people who are 55 and 60? They do not want to be living off social assistance forever. They enjoy hunting. They can hunt, they are capable of it. They know that in the fur industry, there is very little money they can make. We as a government, Madam Chair, I think have failed the people.

We should try to promote the trapping industry as well as having the Employment Strategy in this particular jurisdiction. I applaud, I commend those people who have come up with the statement, a plan, of what we propose to do in the next few years in the area of employment, education and so on.

I believe that, I embrace that. I believe the people in my area but there are those people - what is the most healthy environment in this area, in this planet? One of the most healthy environments, Madam Chair is to live off the land. I am not saying that young people should be living off the land, young people should not be going to school, or those people who are in their 30s, 40s, should not be in school. I am not saying that. By all means take the opportunity, take advantage of what can make your life better.

By the same token, Madam Chair, what about those people who want to, are willing to, who are capable. Who have learned to live off the land and hunt and support their family, maintain their pride. I think and I know, when you are looking at a person who is 60 to 65, sometimes they are confined to their house. Sometimes they have to go to the nursing station and get different kinds of prescriptions, medical prescriptions. I know if we have the political will to help them out, to go on the land, to promote the trapping industry or carving. Those same people who have been confined to their homes and addicted to different drugs, once we are able to help them out with some financing and so on. Once we have been able to promote the fur industry, those same people who were confined in their home, would, guaranteed, be able to get healthy again, be able to support themselves. Give them that pride. Give them something that they are able to do, be part of society, becoming a part of the community. I think a sense of pride, if you take the pride from the individual, what else do you have? Nothing.

I think in some cases we have failed to promote and help those people who are not unable to find jobs in the community. Who feel they are too old to get in the classroom because they are in their 60s. The same people would become part of what we have been hoping for, since the day I got elected, Madam Chair. I like what the other Member is saying. I like the Minister's statement. I like the plan. I think we have something to hope for. I hope we can follow through with this, I hope we can educate and hire the people in this particular jurisdiction. By the same token, do not lose sight of those people who are able to do something else; who are able to go hunting and trapping and so on. I think when you talk about economic growth in the community, I know we are talking about jobs, education. I am one of the proponents of that. Education is important, getting jobs is important. We can touch people, we can make them meaningful members of society, but what about those people who are able to do something else? I think we have to keep that in mind. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Agreed.

The House will come back to order. Item 20, report of committee of the whole. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, seconded by Mr. Dent. The motion is in order. To the motion. Question is being called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried. Item 21, third reading of bills. Mr. Ng.

Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion. Question is being called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried. Bill 17 has had third reading. Third reading of bills. Mr. Clerk, Item 22, orders of the day.