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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow Mr. Todd will introduce the last budget of this government before division. Over the past two budget cycles, because of the deficit reduction strategies, many areas of government have been reduced, eliminated or asked to hold the line on forced growth. The Department of Education falls into the latter category. Over the past several weeks, I have met with many teachers, parents and the Iqaluit Education Council. The theme that continues to be brought forward is the adage that our teachers have to do more with less. Some of the areas that need to be addressed include: lack of funding at

the board level to hire extra staff to help alleviate the increased student enrolments and larger class size, the state of the curricula used and the lack of financial resources for the boards of education to implement new programs or to continue the programs now in place. Although the government has involvement with the western Canada protocol allowing teachers access to resources, in many cases the funding allocated to the school boards impedes our teachers' access to those materials.

Mr. Speaker, funding shortfalls severely impact the quality of education programs. The current level of funding given to the boards of education by the Department of Education for both staffing and critical programs is not adequate and must be increased significantly to meet current needs. Fiscal restraint is the reality at this time. However, I feel that it should not be to the detriment of our children's education. Mr. Speaker, later today I will be asking the Minister of Education for more information on this area. Thank you.

Thank you. Members' statements. Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to welcome all my fellow MLAs and other people who accompanied them back to Yellowknife.

--Applause

Also the federal government has a large responsibility in this area. When the fisheries failed, they put hundreds of millions of dollars into it. When farming fails, they do the same thing. Mining industry should be no different. The federal government needs to find ways to help miners and the mines to survive financially and otherwise until gold prices go back up, but Mr. Speaker, all is not doom and gloom.

There are a lot of things to look forward to and I would like to mention just a few. The last time we were here the Finance Minister mentioned public/private partnerships which would help us to build facilities that we may not otherwise be able to build and there could be a lot of opportunities here for businesses. One of those opportunities is to complete the road to resources that I questioned the Premier about, the last time we were here. This would open things up for exploration. Also, we know that a diamond mine is going to open soon here and that another one is likely to open in a few years. This means not only jobs at the mine but a diamond sorting and valuation facility in one of our communities is still a possibility and I am talking sorting for market not just for valuation. Additionally, we know 80 percent of money generated in a diamond industry occurs after diamonds come out of the ground. We need a guaranteed supply of rough diamonds to help establish a diamond secondary industry in the north. With a little help from our governments, a diamond cutting and polishing factory...

Time is up.

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. Mr. Erasmus, you have unanimous consent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I was saying, with a little help from our governments, a diamond cutting and polishing factory can be a reality in the north. Additionally, last year the Standing Committee of Government Operations recommended several investment initiatives. One of those initiatives was the Aurora Fund and that fund now loans millions of dollars to businesses, large loans up to half a million and over. There was also another investment scheme that we had recommended, something called NORTHTIIP and which I have been bugging the Finance Minister about which is an RRSP tax investment, incentive-based investment, for investments in smaller businesses. Hopefully, the Finance Minister will make an announcement soon. In the area of the federal government, we know that the federal government will be starting a National Child Benefit Program which will invest $500 million into the economy starting in July 1998, which will help poorest people getting over $300 a child per month. The money that the GNWT saves on income support will go to programs for children in poor families. We have also had a response to the Royal Commission which is something like $400 million for compensation and programs for those abused in residential schools and programs to assist aboriginal people in taking their rightful place in society. Hopefully, there will be more announcements coming. Mr. Speaker, as I said not all is doom and gloom, and I look forward to the budget speech tomorrow as the Finance Minister has assured us that there will be initiatives and good news. Thank you.

--Applause

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome my colleagues back to continue working on many issues we have in front of us. As you may recall, on December 2, 1997, I brought forward a concern about the housing situation in the Wha Ti. I would like to thank Mr. Arlooktoo for responding to this concern in such a timely matter. On December 16th I flew to Wha Ti with the staff members of the NWT Housing Corporation. We had scheduled with the council to start a process of communication to determine all concerns. This turned into a very good meeting and I feel the objectives were met. All members left feeling a sense of accomplishment and looking forward to solving the major problems that exist. Again, I would like to thank Mr. Arlooktoo and his staff for this very important initiative. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

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

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

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

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

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

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker and good afternoon to all my honourable colleagues and welcome back to the Legislative Assembly.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Minister Dent for his presentation on the western transition and fielding questions on the NWT Power Corporation and the education, culture and employment issues. Also, the active participation of representatives from the departments of Health and Social Services, RWED, MACA and the NWT Housing Corporation provided attending leaders with timely updates of the GNWT initiatives. The meetings were in an excellent forum to advise government on a variety of important Deh Cho issues.

I am pleased to report that the Deh Cho First Nation Leadership have expressed an interest in working with a proposed ministerial envoy from DIAND Minister Jane Stewart to explore the opportunities to advance the Deh Cho in talks with the federal government on governance and land issues.

On January 13th, the Deh Cho leaders received representatives from the Yellowknife Dene First Nations and on January 15th, the meeting was attended by a delegation from the Dogrib Nation. It is very encouraging to see a spirit of cooperation building among leaders and to witness frank discussions between First Nations in their own territories.

Thank you, Mr. Antoine. Members' statements. At this time I would like to recognize some distinguished visitors seated in the Speaker's gallery.

With us today are the Honourable Mr. Justice Ralph Hudson and Mrs. Jan Hudson. Mr. Justice Hudson is a judge of the Supreme Court of the Yukon Territory and a judge of the Court of Appeal of the Northwest Territories. Welcome to the Assembly.

--Applause

Also here today is Mr. Merrill Wiggington, the Chief Electoral Officer for the province of Prince Edward Island. Mr. Wiggington is in Yellowknife to meet with our Northwest Territories elections' officials. Welcome to the Assembly. Members' statements. Mr. Kakfwi.

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